A Change is As Good As A Rest
by hardyxrose
Summary: When Rose and the Metacrisis Doctor are tragically and permanently separated, she flees to Broadchurch to get away from the memories. Little does she know her life will be turned upside down when she meets a man with a very familiar face. Canon compliant up to the end of Broadchurch series one and Doctor Who series four.
1. Chapter 1

Rose Tyler was numb.

She knew she should be feeling something. Sorrow. Rage. Betrayal. Heartbreak. Anything besides the total feeling of emptiness that had completely engulfed her, was threatening to swallow her whole. The last time she had felt this way had been on a frigid beach in Norway, after watching the Doctor fade away, those three little words left unspoken. And then he'd done it to her again, on that same beach, refusing to say those words, leaving her with a man who had his face, and voice, and memories, but was still something new, something different, something mostly human. She knew why he had done it, of course-had the Doctor actually told her he loved her, there would have been no force in the universe powerful enough to keep her from him. She would've refused to be left behind with his double and her family. He had needed her to accept the Metacrisis, because he himself was unable to. And in the end, she ihad/i accepted him, accepted that he really was the same man, accepted the unconditional love he had for her, that he could verbalize where the Doctor had never been able to admit it out loud. While the Doctor had always kept his emotions locked away inside, his double, John Smith, told Rose every opportunity he got that he loved her.

She would never hear him say those words again.

"The Lord is my shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing. He shall feed me in a green pasture and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort. He shall convert my soul and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me, thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full. Surely thy loving kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen," the priest finished, closing his Bible.

As Rose watched them lower the box containing the only man she had ever really loved into the ground, she felt a surge of anger. Proper, deep anger, the first real feeling she'd had in days since being told John had been killed. Anger that he had been taken from her, anger at the one who had taken him from her, anger that they'd been given a second chance, only to have it yanked away, anger that their time together had been brutally cut short. But most of all, anger at the lies that he was in a better place, that they would see each other again.

A bitter little laugh bubbled up from inside her. "This is bullshit!" she spat, drawing startled glances from the priest and the other mourners gathered around the grave. "He didn't even believe in God! And why should he? What loving, merciful God would bring us back together, only to rip us apart again?"

"Rose…" her mother said softly, placing her hand on her arm.

She shook herself from her mother's grip, and fled from the grave, not bothering to look behind her.

"Rose."

She looked up from her computer to see her step-father standing in the doorway of her office. She mustered a weary smile. "Hey, Pete."

"It's seven o'clock. Everyone else has gone home for the day. What are you still doing here?" he asked gently.

"What are iyou/i still doing here?" she returned, quirking her eyebrows at him.

"I had some incident reports to look over. The Director's job is never finished. No rest for the wicked," he said, pulling out one of the chairs that was in front of her desk and taking a seat. "I was about to head home, but I saw that your lights were still on."

"I'm just catching up on paperwork. It helps keep my mind off...things," she finished tersely.

"Rose, sweetheart...it's only been a few days. There's no need for you to be here. The paperwork can wait. Torchwood will keep functioning without you. You need time to grieve," Pete said, light admonishment in his tone.

"And what would I do at home, surrounded by the memories of him? Wallow in pain? No, it's better this way. This way, I don't have to spend every waking moment dwelling on the fact that John is dead, and the Doctor is sealed away in another universe. I need the distraction," she replied, struggling to keep her tone even. Pete didn't deserve her anger.

"Listen, your mother and I have been talking, and we both agree...maybe it would be good for you to get out of London. Just for a little while. I have a summer home on the coast of Dorset, a little town called Broadchurch. It's nice there, very peaceful. Quiet. You could have an extended holiday, come back to work when you're ready. What do you think?" he asked. He sounded nervous.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Am I so difficult to be around that you want to send me away?"

"No! No, it's not that at all. It's just, like you said...London is full of memories. Maybe it would be easier for you to grieve somewhere that you won't be confronted with John's ghost at every turn," Pete said.

Rose let out a deep sigh. "I'll think about it."

"Good. That's all I wanted to hear. Just think about it. And when you've made up your mind, you just let me know. Goodnight, Rose," Pete said, slipping out of the office.

She stared after him for a long moment, then glanced back at her computer screen. The words swam in an incoherent jumble as her eyes began to fill with tears. She laid her head down on the desk and allowed herself to cry for the first time since John's death.

Rose's hair fluttered in the breeze as she stepped out of her car and onto the gravel driveway. She glanced at the piece of paper with the address scrawled in Pete's precise handwriting, then back at the house. 27 Marigold Lane. This was the place. She hauled her purse onto her shoulder, grabbed her suitcase from the boot, and walked up the steps, onto the porch. She dug through her purse, fumbling for the keys Pete had handed her just over three hours ago. Gripping the keyring tightly in her hand, she slid the key into the lock and turned. The door swung open easily, admitting her entrance to the cozy seaside cottage. She drug her stuff inside and shut the door behind her.

The house was fully furnished, though it hadn't been used in years, according to Pete. The living room featured a cream-coloured sofa, two plushy armchairs and a coffee table, arranged in front of a small fireplace. Mounted above the fireplace was a flat screen television. Several abstract paintings decorated the walls of the room, which was painted a light, calming shade of blue. She set her stuff down and went to examine the kitchen. Sunlight streamed through the window over the sink, which had a lovely view of the ocean. She opened cabinets and drawers, taking stock of pots and pans, utensils and dishware. She reached into the back of one cabinet and pulled out a fancy electric kettle. Tea. She could murder a cuppa right about now, but of course, there was nothing in the house. She sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was tired of driving, but she knew there was no avoiding the inevitable trip she'd have to make to Tesco's. She left the kitchen in favor of further exploring the little cottage. She was pleased to see that the single bathroom had a giant claw-footed tub and shower. A bath. That was another thing she was in desperate need of, as the hours of driving had pulled all her muscles into tense knots. She poked her head into the bedroom. It was simply furnished. A four-poster bed, two end tables, a large armoire. Smaller than the bedroom of the flat she had shared with John, but as it was only herself now that was of little consequence.

She pulled her mobile out and shot a quick text to Pete, letting him know she had arrived safely. Still, she found she was exhausted, and slightly queasy. Maybe a little kip would do her some good. Not caring that the bed wasn't even made up, she collapsed onto it and gratefully shut her eyes. Just a little kip, and then Tesco's.

Ellie Miller pulled into her driveway and shut off her car. In the rearview mirror, she saw that a car was parked in the driveway of the old Tyler house, across the street, but that no lights were on. She frowned as she got out of the car. She knew the house belonged to Peter Tyler, of Vitex fame, but she hadn't seen the house occupied in ages. No lights were on, either. Perhaps someone had broken in? She pulled her mobile out of her pocket and dialed quickly.

"Hardy," a gruff voice answered after three rings.

"Hey, it's Ellie. Listen, it may be nothing, but I just came home and there's a car in the driveway of the old Tyler place. There are no lights on, though. I'm wondering if maybe someone didn't break in. Think I should go investigate?"

"I can't make it out there right now. I'm on a call. If you're going to go investigate, please be careful. You don't want to catch someone in the act, have them turn violent on you," Alec warned.

"Well maybe I'll just go over and check the doors and windows. Maybe ring the bell, see if anyone answers. I can always call for backup if I see anything suspicious," Ellie said, already making her way across the street.

"Alright. Call me when you've had a look," he replied before ringing off.

Ellie walked up the steps to the porch. All the windows were closed, the glass in tact. She tried the front door. Locked tight. She attempted to peer inside, but it was too dark to see anything. She walked around the house, checking all the windows. Nothing seemed to be amiss. She walked back up the steps and rang the bell. She could hear it chiming in the house, but nothing else. She rang the bell again. A light flickered on from the depths of the house and she could hear someone shuffling about. The door opened, revealing a worn looking blonde woman on the other side. She looked as though she had just woken up.

"Hello there. I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but I live right across the street. No one's been in this house in ages, I was just worried someone might have broken in. You don't look like a criminal, though," Ellie said.

"No, not a criminal," the blonde replied wryly. "This is my step-father's summer house. I came on holiday."

"Well that's nice. It'll be good to see the old place occupied again, even for a little while. Ellie Miller," she said, extending her hand.

Hesitantly, the blonde woman shook her hand. "Rose Tyler. I'd invite you in for a cuppa, but I haven't had a chance to run to the store yet. Laid down for a kip, ended up sleeping much longer than I meant to."

"Well, allow me to welcome you to Broadchurch. Why don't you join me and my kids for dinner? We're just ordering pizza, but you look knackered and I imagine you're hungry. No good shopping on an empty stomach," Ellie chided.

Rose smiled, but it barely touched her eyes. "That's very kind of you, but it must be getting late. I probably should be getting to the store."

Ellie flapped her hand dismissively. "The Tesco's is 24 hours. Besides, the later you go, the less crowded it'll be. Please, I insist. Join us for dinner."

The other woman's shoulders slumped and she stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her. "Yeah...alright. I am actually kind of hungry. Haven't been in a while."

Rose's odd response gave Ellie a brief pause, but she brushed it off. "Wonderful. I'm just across the street here," she said, leading the way. The nanny greeted them at the door.

"Tom's doing his homework and Fred's watching cartoons," she told Ellie.

"Great. I'll pay you Friday then?"

"Yeah, that's fine. See you tomorrow," the nanny replied, gathering her things and slipping out the door.

"How's pepperoni? That okay with you?" Ellie asked as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Yeah, of course. Pepperoni's fine," Rose replied.

"Great. I'll just call the order into Alonso's," Ellie said, sliding her mobile from her pocket. She dialed the pizza joint and placed her order. "Cup of tea while we wait?"

"Oh God, yes please," Rose answered, sounding relieved. "I'd give my left arm for a cuppa right about now."

"Well there's no need to do that," Ellie said, filling the kettle and setting it on the stove to boil. "So, what brings you to Broadchurch? Anything in particular?"

"No, not really. I just...needed to get away. From London. My step-father has the house here, that's really the only reason I came," Rose replied. "It seems nice, though, from what I saw driving through town."

"Oh, it is nice. For the most part. I mean, I'm sure you've probably heard about the unpleasantness last year...but we're moving to put it behind us."

Rose's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What sort of unpleasantness?"

This time it was Ellie's turn to raise her eyebrows as she reached into the cabinet to pull out two mugs. "You mean you haven't heard? About the murder?"

"No. Honestly, I'd never even heard of this place, not until my step-dad brought it up."

The kettle whistled and Ellie pulled it from the stove. She plunked a tea bag in each mug and poured the hot water over them. Pulling the cream from the fridge, she considered what she was going to say next. "An eleven year old boy was murdered. Danny Latimer. My oldest son Tom's best friend, actually. The whole town was rocked. Still...trial's over now. The murderer was convicted. People are trying to move on."

Rose accepted the cream from her, and splashed a generous amount into her tea. She stirred in sugar from the bowl on the counter, and regarded Ellie over the top of her mug. "I'll admit, my work kept me pretty busy. I didn't pay much attention to the news. I'm sorry about your son's friend. It's always terrible...when people are taken before their time."

Ellie didn't miss the hitch in Rose's voice when she said that last sentence. "Who did you lose?" she asked softly.

Rose scrubbed at her face. "I barely know you. I shouldn't be unloading my baggage on you. Especially not when you're the one buying dinner."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to," Ellie replied, feeling guilty.

"No, it's alright. It was my fiance. He was killed in a school shooting a couple of weeks ago. That's why I left London...the memories. It was just too much," Rose said, tears beginning to squeeze their way out of her eyes.

"Oh, now I've done it. I am so sorry," Ellie said. She gave Rose an awkward hug, then passed her a box of tissues. "Please, let's just forget I even brought it up."

Rose dabbed at her eyes. "You had no way of knowing. Besides...I have to talk about it eventually. It's just hard to admit that he's gone, y'know? I wake up in the mornings, expect to have him next to me...and then I remember. But enough about me. What about you? Are you married?"

Ellie shifted uncomfortably. This woman really ididn't/i know anything about the Latimer case. "I was. Married. I'm divorced now."

"That must be hard when you've got children," Rose said sympathetically.

Ellie nodded. "I make do," she replied, eager to change the subject. The doorbell rang, effectively interrupting the conversation. "Now who could that be? Can't be the pizza already," she said, excusing herself to go answer the door. She peeked through the curtains, and saw Hardy standing on her porch.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she opened the door.

"You never called me back. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright," he said, not waiting for her to invite him in.

"Sorry, I got caught up. I'm just having tea with the neighbor," she said, shutting the door behind him.

"Take it there was no burglar then?" he said.

"Turns out not," Ellie replied, walking back into the kitchen. "Rose, this is DI Alec Hardy, my boss."

Rose turned around to look at them, and gasped. Her mug slipped from her hands, crashing to the floor. "Oh my God," she breathed, stumbling towards him. "It's...you."

And then she fainted dead away.


	2. Chapter 2

When Rose came to, her head was aching. The astringent smell of antiseptic assaulted her nose, making her stomach roil. She turned to her side and began to retch. Someone hurriedly placed the waste bucket by her side, but as there was nothing in her stomach but tea, she just dry heaved several times before forcing herself to sit up. And there he was, sitting in the chair beside her bed.

"Doctor?" she rasped in disbelief.

"No, it's Detective Hardy. You passed out in Miller..er, Ellie's kitchen. You're in A and E at the local hospital. Ellie had to stay with the kids, so I came along to make sure you were alright. Do you want me to fetch the doctor?"

"No...you can't be the Doctor. John. You can't be here. You're dead!" Rose cried, covering her face with her hands.

"I assure you, though I'm sure there are several people who wish otherwise, I am quite alive," he replied.

Rose brought her hands down to her lap and looked him over with red-rimmed eyes. "That beard makes you look like a serial killer. Why are you talking in a Scottish accent?"

"Serial killer? Really? That's a new one. And anyway, I'm from Scotland. Listen...you hit your head pretty hard when you fell. You're obviously confused. I should really go and get the doctor," he said uncomfortably, getting to his feet.

"You're leaving me again. But you just got here. Please...don't go," she whispered.

He jammed his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Listen, whoever you think I am, you're mistaken. My name is Alec Hardy, not John. I'm a DI, not a doctor. And I'm pretty positive we've never met before. I'm sorry."

Rose began crying, and her shoulders started to shake. "Of course. John Smith is dead, and you look like him."

"Right. I'm going to go and get the doctor," he said firmly, sweeping out of the room.

Rose sank back against her pillow and continued sobbing quietly. What kind of cruel joke was this? She'd left London to escape the memories of John, only to be confronted by his ghost in Broadchurch. She was losing her mind, obviously. The Doctor couldn't be here now. John couldn't be here now. It was impossible. She was seeing things, had to be.

"Ah, Miss Tyler. You're awake. I'm Doctor Watkins," a man in a lab coat said, taking the seat next to her bed. "Tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Confused. I don't understand what's going on. I thought...I thought I saw...him. My fiance. But he's dead," she hiccupped, wiping at her eyes.

"Yes, the detective mentioned that you had mistaken him for someone else. You hit your head pretty hard, you might still be experiencing the side effects from that. But I've done a physical examination, and you seem to be alright, the baby's alright."

Rose jerked her head up, sure she had misheard the man. "The what?"

The doctor's brow furrowed. "Oh. Did you not know? You're pregnant. Hard telling how far along without an ultrasound, but the blood test we did was positive."

Rose burst into a fresh slew of tears.

"Oh, dear. You said your fiance was dead," the doctor said, realization dawning in his eyes. "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry. Is there anyone I can call for you? Any family?"

"No. I've got no one here. My family's all in London," Rose croaked miserably.

"The psychiatrist then? Or the chaplain? Someone for you to at least talk to. I imagine you're going to need some help getting along. Losing a loved one is hard. And then the other news on top of that. I'm sure you're feeling...a lot of things right now," the doctor said awkwardly.

"I just want to go home," Rose mumbled, curling in on herself.

"I'm afraid we need to keep you overnight for observation. Head injury and all that. You can go home in the morning," the doctor said gently. "Are you sure you don't want me to send for the chaplain?"

"I don't believe in God," Rose ground out, curling her hands into fists. "Please...just leave me alone."

Reluctantly, the doctor left the young woman to her grief.

Rose woke the next morning to the sound of rain drumming against the window. She found it fitting, given the mood she was in. She had no more tears left in her, so the world was crying for her instead. A breakfast tray sat on the table next to bed, untouched. She had no appetite. Just the thought of food made her stomach turn in protest. Gently, she probed the back of her head, wincing when her fingers came in contact with a large bump. No stitches, though. She could be thankful for that small favor. Had she fallen and hit the counter, she might have broken her neck. Bitterly, she wondered if that wouldn't have been better. Her clothes were folded in a pile, sitting in a cubby against the wall. Heaving herself off the bed with a sigh, she retrieved her clothes, shed her hospital gown, and got dressed. She wandered out into the hall and swiftly located the nurse's station.

"Hey, ummm...I was just wondering if someone could call me a taxi? The doctor said I was good to go this morning, but I have no way to get home," she said, fiddling with her hair.

"Oh, no worries, love. Rose Tyler, right? Ellie Miller called this morning-she said to call the station when you were ready to go and she could pick you up," the nurse told her brightly.

Rose groaned inwardly. The last thing she wanted to do was see the woman who she had made a fool of herself in front of. Dismally, she realized though that she had no choice, as her wallet was still in her purse back at the cottage. She had no money for a taxi.

"Alright, yeah. Could you please call her for me?" Rose asked.

"Sure thing. There's a waiting area downstairs, with tea and coffee, and magazines. Why don't you go ahead and wait for her there?" the nurse advised.

Wordlessly, Rose shuffled off towards the lift and took it down to the first floor. The doors slid open to reveal the hospital lobby. Off to one side, she saw the waiting area the nurse had mentioned, so she made her way over and located the tea. She chose a packet of Earl Grey and accepted a cup of steaming water from the machine. Perhaps subtly punishing herself, she didn't add sugar or cream to the tea. She found a seat by the window and sipped the bitter brew quietly, waiting for her ride. About twenty minutes later, she saw Ellie pull up outside. She binned the dregs of her tea and dashed to the car, but she was still soaking wet by the time she reached the vehicle and got in.

"Thanks for coming to get me," Rose said once they had pulled away from the hospital.

"Oh, it's no trouble. I was worried about you. Wanted to make sure you're alright. One minute you were fine, the next, you looked like you'd seen a ghost and you collapsed at our feet. Scared the hell out of us both. You are alright, though, yeah?" Ellie asked, sounding concerned.

"No," Rose replied, not bothering to elaborate. Ellie glanced at her, opened her mouth, and then promptly shut it again. Good. Maybe she'd be quiet the rest of the way. Rose wasn't up for all the questions. She supposed it made sense, though. Ellie had introduced that man, Alec Hardy, as her boss the DI. Which meant that she had to be police herself. She probably slipped into interrogation mode without even thinking about it.

After a few minutes, Ellie broke the silence. "Last night, when you saw Hardy, you said 'it's you'. Who did you think you saw?"

"Did you offer to pick me up just so you could question me? I'm not a suspect, am I?" Rose snapped irritably.

Ellie looked taken aback. "No, of course you're not. Sorry, I'm sorry. You're right, it's none of my business."

Rose sighed, settled back against her seat and adjusted her seatbelt. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just...I've got a lot on my mind right now."

Ellie nodded. "You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to. And I'm really sorry. I was only trying to help. Everyone needs a friend, y'know?"

Rose nodded noncommittally. "I suppose. So...how long has that Hardy bloke been your boss?"

"Let me see. I guess about two years? Think so, anyway," Ellie replied. "Mind you, sometimes it feels like an eternity. Hardy and I didn't always get along. But we're mates now. He's about the only friend I have left in this town."

Two years. So he couldn't possibly be John, or the Doctor. Like she thought before, she must have been seeing things. Wishful thinking. She cleared her throat, realizing she hadn't yet responded to Ellie. "I find that hard to believe. You seem so friendly," Rose offered.

Ellie chuckled wryly. "Yeah, well...yeah. People just haven't quite forgiven me for what happened last year. I haven't quite forgiven myself. Suppose I might as well tell you, you're bound to find out anyway. The Danny Latimer case? The killer? He was my husband. I'm the brilliant detective who couldn't sniff out a murderer under my own damn roof."

"Oh Ellie. I'm so sorry," Rose said, her own problems temporarily forgotten. "You didn't have to tell me."

"I'd rather you hear it from me than through the chain of gossip," Ellie said with a sigh. "It was the most scandalous thing to happen here since...well, ever, probably."

Rose fiddled with her sapphire engagement ring. The delicate filigree band felt loose. Probably because she'd hardly eaten a thing besides tea and toast in weeks. Unfortunately, that was a habit she'd have to change. She had more than just herself to think about now.

"I don't suppose you know if there's a good obstetrician in town," Rose asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Ellie's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the question. "Um, well yeah, sure. There's Doctor Morris. She delivered both my boys. I can give you her information, if you'd like. So...you're pregnant then?"

Rose bit her lip. "Apparently so. They ran my blood last night in A and E, I guess when they were trying to figure out why I fainted. The test was positive."

Rose could see from Ellie's face that she was at war with herself. She was silent for a long, measured moment before finally speaking again. "And how are you feeling about that?"

Rose fought back the tears that were threatening to spill over. So she still did have it in her to cry, evidently. "I don't even know. There's a part of me that thinks this is...well, the last gift he'll ever give me. A part of himself. The other part of me doesn't know how I can possibly go on everyday with a constant reminder that he's gone growing inside of me. Knowing that child will never know his or her father. I haven't even begun to cope with his death yet...how do I even begin to cope with the idea of a baby?"

"That's a tough choice," Ellie agreed. "Still...you have some time to think about it, yeah?"

"Maybe. I don't even know how far along I am," Rose said miserably.

Ellie pulled up outside of the cottage. She took a piece of paper from her purse, scribbled a name and phone number, and handed it to Rose. "Call Doctor Morris. That way, you'll know what's going on. Hopefully then, it'll be easier for you to make some sort of decision, either way. Oh, and I put my number on there too, if you ever need anything, or just need to talk. Please feel free to call me."

"Thank you, Ellie," Rose said sincerely, getting out of the car. The other woman waved to her as she drove away. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up the stairs to the porch. The keys were jammed in her front pocket. She withdrew them with shaking hands and tried to unlock the door. It took her several attempts to get the key to slide home into the lock, but she finally, gratefully, pushed the door open. First thing first, she needed to get out of her wet clothes and take a bath. She retrieved her toiletries and her mobile and shut herself into the bathroom. She opened up Pandora on her phone and set it on the window ledge, then turned to draw the bath before shucking her wet clothes and tossing them in a pile on the floor. She spent the minutes waiting for the giant tub to fill sitting on the toilet, chewing her fingernails. Finally, she stepped into the steaming water. Relief washing over her, she sank down into the tub, letting the water soothe her aching body. She was careful not to rest her head against the porcelain, lest she do herself further injury. Carefully, she began the painstaking process of washing her hair, being mindful not to press too hard against the lump on her head. She ducked her head underneath the water and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair.

She emerged from under the water just as one song was ending and another began. Her breath caught in her throat as the familiar melody echoed through the bathroom.

iLove of mine, someday you will die. But I'll be close behind, I'll follow you into the dark. No blinding light, or tunnels to gates of white. Just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark.../i

That was enough to crush what little composure she had managed to retain that morning. She began weeping openly, her tears mixing with the bath water. Brokenly she sobbed, the sound drowning out Ben Gibbard's mournful ballad. She was still crying long after the song had ended. It was only when the bath water had begun to cool that she finally heaved herself out of the tub. She grabbed two fluffy white towels from the shelf over the toilet and used one to wrap up her hair. The other towel she tucked tightly around her body. She retrieved her phone from the window ledge and exited out of Pandora.

Not wanting to think, she plunked herself onto the sofa and turned on the television. The distraction proved futile, as she was unable to escape the thoughts barraging through her mind. Could she even stay in Broadchurch, knowing that a clone of the Doctor was running around? Did Alec Hardy even actually look like the Doctor, or was it just wishful thinking on her part? Would staying in Broadchurch be any worse than returning to London, to the flat that she had lived in with John? She honestly didn't know. There was one thing she was sure that she wasn't ready to face, though-the pity and sympathy of her family when they inevitably found out that she was pregnant. That was a conversation she thought she could put off indefinitely. But only if she didn't return to London. It was easy to lie over the phone, but if faced with Jackie Tyler in person, she knew her mother would immediately cop onto the fact that something was wrong.

Right. That decided it then. There was no way she was ready to return to London, so Broadchurch it was. Back in the bedroom she hurriedly dressed before gathering up her things to go to the store. Regardless of what happened next, there was no way she would survive the coming weeks without tea.


	3. Chapter 3

Her trip to Tesco's started out uneventful enough. Then she bumped into DI Hardy in the dairy aisle. The clatter of her trolley bumping into another caused her to raise her head. She'd been looking down at her grocery list. When she looked back up, a familiar face greeted her.

"Oh, it's you. Looks like you're feeling better then?" he asked in his pleasant Scottish brogue.

"You...you shaved," she said in disbelief, taking in his clean-shaven face and neatly trimmed sideburns. He was wearing glasses to boot. Upon seeing him again, she realized she hadn't been mistaken. This man could easily be John's twin, especially now that he'd gotten rid of that dreadful beard. Before she realized what she was doing, she reached out and ran her fingers through the wiry hair of his sideburn, letting her palm come to rest on his cheek.

He cleared his throat, evidently uncomfortable with the unexpected contact. Rose hastily withdrew her hand. She didn't know what she'd been thinking, touching him like that. He might look like John, but he certainly wasn't him.

"Yeah, I shaved. iSomeone/i told me I looked like a serial killer. I was prepared to ignore it, but I asked Miller and she said that yes, it did kind of make me look a little...unhinged, I believe was the word she used. And also homeless."

Rose averted her eyes. "You'll have to forgive me. I find it difficult to look at you. You're a dead ringer for my dead fiance."

"How unfortunate for him," Hardy said, attempting to lighten the mood.

Rose looked back at him sharply. "Don't say that. He was...you are...very handsome."

"Handsome. I'll take that over serial killer anyday," he replied, smiling back at her.

She found herself returning the smile. "Sorry. I suppose that was a bit rude of me. I was out of it last night, I didn't know who you were."

"Yeah, I gathered as much. I suppose that explains why you looked at me like I was a ghost. I'm sorry to have upset you," he said earnestly.

"It's not your fault. You can't help what you look like. I mean, what are the odds of two people who look exactly alike living within a few hours of each other? It's just a coincidence, albeit an unfortunate one. Well, not unfortunate. Well...ugh, I'm rambling. I sound like him. I'm sorry," Rose said awkwardly, looking down at her hands to avoid looking him in the face.

"It's quite alright. Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time. Best get back to shopping," he said.

"Yeah, right. Have a good one," she said, watching him walk away. She didn't realize she'd been clenching her hands until she looked down and saw her crumpled grocery list sticking out of her fist. Apparently, it was going to be harder to avoid Alec Hardy than she had initially thought.

Back at the cottage, Rose brewed a pot of tea and prepared herself a sandwich. Sitting at the kitchen table, she opened up her laptop and pulled up Google. Her fingers hovered over the keys, hesitating, until she finally typed in his name. Nibbling around the edges of her sandwich, she sifted through the results, trying to find more information on the man who was John's copy. The most recent results were related to the Danny Latimer murder case. Further back though, she found mentions of the murder of two young girls in Sandbrook.

"Worst cop in Britain vindicated," she read out loud. Her eyes scanned the article quickly, picking out the vital information. It seemed that Hardy's wife, who had apparently worked the Sandbrook case with him, had left their only piece of evidence in her car while she was at a hotel with her lover. The car had been broken into, and the evidence stolen. Initially, Hardy had taken responsibility for the lost evidence, not wanting his teenage daughter to find out about her mother's affair. Later, he had come out with the truth, evidently wanting to clear his name. Rose felt a flash of sympathy for the disgraced detective. She finished her sandwich and tea and dumped the dishes unceremoniously into the sink. She would deal with them later. She dug out the piece of paper Ellie had given her earlier from her purse, and keyed the doctor's number into her mobile. It rang twice before someone answered.

"Tessa Morris's office. How may I help you?" a chipper young woman inquired.

"I need to make an appointment," Rose said, winding a strand of her hair around her fingers.

"Okay. What are you coming in for?" the woman on the other end asked.

"I just found out I'm pregnant. I don't know how far along, though. I guess I need an ultrasound?" Rose replied uncertainly.

"No problem. I have Thursday at 9:00am available, or Friday at 1:00pm. Have you ever been to our office before?"

"Thursday morning is fine, and no, I've never been," Rose answered.

"Alright, I'll just need to get some information from you," the receptionist responded primly. Rose wearily answered the questions about her name and other details. The woman confirmed her appointment for Thursday at 9:00am and rang off.

She flung herself onto the sofa and flipped the television on, settling against the cushions. They were playing reruns of East Enders, one of her mother's favorite shows. Grudgingly, she allowed herself to become absorbed in the storyline. She was so caught up, she almost didn't hear her mobile ringing. Hastily, she plucked the phone off of the coffee table and looked at the caller ID. Jake. She debated ignoring the call, but knew that her best mate was unlikely to be put off for long. She swiped her finger across the screen, accepting the call.

"Hello," she said, trying to fake cheerful.

"Hey there, Rosie. How's your holiday in Broadchurch going?" Jake asked.

"I've only been here a day and a half," she replied. She tugged the zipper of her hoodie up and down, keeping the phone pressed between her face and shoulder.

"Yeah, and how do you like it so far?" he pressed.

"It's...fine," she said.

Jake didn't miss the moment of hesitation before her answer. "Oh no. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered immediately.

"You're a shit liar, you know that?" Jake responded teasingly. "Now come on, fess up."

"There's...a man here. A detective. Jake, he's the spitting image of John. They could be twins," she told him, relieved to be able to share the information with someone who could truly understand the implications of it.

Jake was silent for a moment. "Are you sure? That seems...somewhat unlikely," he finished lamely.

"Jake, I'm sure. Listen, see for yourself. There's pictures of him all over the internet. His name is Alec Hardy," she said, mildly irritated by his doubt.

She could hear him typing, and then an intake of breath. "Holy shit, you weren't kidding. They could be brothers."

"I told you so," she replied tartly.

"So what are you gonna do? Are you gonna stay?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going back to London. Not right now, anyway. Maybe not for a while," she said, running her hand over her still taut abdomen. Did she tell Jake about the baby? She was pretty sure she could trust him to keep a secret if she asked him to, but she was still reluctant to say it out loud. Saying it out loud made it real, and it was a reality she hardly felt equipped to cope with at the moment. She decided to say nothing. After all, she hadn't even been to the doctor yet.

"Think you'll look for a job down there?" he questioned.

"Maybe. I haven't really had time to give it much thought yet," she answered. "How's Torchwood?"

"Same shit, different day. Woman thinks she sees an alien in a tree, it turns out to be a cat. But we're doing alright without you, if that was what you were getting at," he said wryly. "Not that we don't miss having you around."

"Yeah, right. No one misses me. If I'm not there, they're spared the awkwardness of having to face me and my grief," she said bitterly. "No one ever knows what to say."

"Don't be so down on yourself, Tyler. Of course we miss you. Even if you are grieving," Jake said gently.

"Maybe you do. I doubt anyone else does," she replied stiffly.

Jake sighed, the sigh of the long-suffering. "Believe what you want, Rose. But I'm telling you, everyone really does miss you. We'll be glad to have you back. When you're ready, of course."

"I don't know that I'll ever be ready," she admitted.

"And that's okay if you aren't. A change is as good as a rest," he said. He stopped himself, barely, from saying 'just what the doctor ordered'.

"Yeah, maybe. I mean, I've only driven through the town, but it seems nice. And the cottage has a lovely view of the beach. It's...peaceful. Definitely more quiet than London," she said.

They lapsed into an awkward silence. Jake cleared his throat. "Alright well, I've got to get back to work. But call me, please. Don't be a stranger."

"I won't. Be a stranger, that is. Oh, and Jake? Please don't say anything about the detective to mum or Pete. It'll just make them worry," she said.

"Your secret's safe with me. G'bye Rose," he said, ringing off.

Sighing, she turned off the television. The conversation with Jake, however brief, had left her feeling drained. She fetched linens out of the closet and slowly made up the bed. She plugged in her mobile, set it on the end table, stripped down to her knickers, and crawled under the covers. It didn't take long for a blissfully dreamless sleep to overtake her.

Rose woke up early on Thursday morning. The clock by the bedside read 7:30. It was raining again, the third day in a row. Reluctantly, she peeled herself out of bed, showered, and brushed her teeth. She pulled out her laptop to look up the address of the doctor's office, which thankfully wasn't too far away. She hunted around the cottage for an umbrella, finally finding one buried in the back of a closet. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she closed and locked the door behind her and opened the umbrella for the brief walk to the car. The car door stuck briefly before finally opening. She got in, tossed the umbrella into the back seat, checked her mirrors, and backed out of the driveway. She had only gone about a mile or so down the road when she noticed the man jogging in the pouring rain. It was Hardy. She pulled up next to him and rolled down her window.

"Are you mad? What are you doing running in the rain? You'll catch your death out here," she said, not unkindly.

Hardy peered back at her from underneath his dripping wet hair. "It wasn't raining when I left for my run. I got stuck in it."

"Well go on then, get in. I have a doctor's appointment, but I'm running a little early. I have time to drop you off somewhere, if you'd like," she offered.

Hardy seemed to consider this for a moment before acquiescing. "Yeah, alright. Thank you."

Rose unlocked the doors, and Hardy slid into the front passenger seat. She waited for him to buckle his seatbelt before she put the car back in gear and pulled off the shoulder.

"Alright, so where am I taking you?" she asked him.

"It's not far, just a couple miles further. Burnt Church Road," he replied.

"You'll have to give me directions," she told him.

"Keep going straight for about three miles. It'll be the second street on the left, after the light," he instructed.

Rose nodded and continued driving. She reached out and twisted the volume knob on the radio, hoping to discourage conversation. Hardy didn't seemed bothered by it.

"So, doctor's appointment. Everything okay?" he asked.

She glanced over at him. "Yeah. It's just a follow-up appointment, to check on my head," she said, the lie coming easily. She had no desire to discuss her pregnancy with this man. She wasn't even sure why she had offered him the ride in the first place, other than the fact that he had looked so pathetic slogging along out in the rain. Thankfully, the rest of the drive passed in relative silence, aside from Hardy giving her directions. She pulled up outside his house and stopped the car.

"Thanks again," he said, unbuckling his belt. "Good luck at your appointment."

"Yeah, thank you. I'm sure it'll be fine," she said shortly. She watched him let himself into the house before she pulled away. She had to double back and go back the way she had came to get to the doctor's. When she pulled into the lot, the dashboard clock read 8:55. She was just in time.

In the office, she accepted a clipboard from the receptionist. She sat down in an uncomfortable plastic chair and began to fill out her medical information. By the time she had finished, the doctor was ready for her. One of the nurses opened the door of the waiting room and led her into an exam room.

"Go ahead and put on this gown, then take a seat on the exam table. The doctor will be with you in a couple of minutes," the nurse said.

Rose did as instructed, and stripped her clothing before slipping on the flimsy paper gown. She folded her clothes neatly and left them in a stack on the chair. Her stomach was roiling again, though whether it was due to morning sickness or nerves, she didn't know. She hopped up on the table and twirled her thumbs, waiting. A few minutes later, a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Rose said.

A short, brunette woman swept into the room, wearing a lab coat and carrying a clipboard. "Hello there. I'm Doctor Morris. And you are Rose Tyler?"

"Last time I checked," Rose replied.

"So Ms. Tyler, what brings you in here today?" the doctor asked, taking a seat on a stool in front of a computer.

Rose tried to mask her irritation. Why did they even bother asking when you made an appointment, if the doctor always ended up asking anyway? "I just found out I'm pregnant. Don't know how far along."

"What's the date of your last menstrual period?" the doctor asked.

"I honestly don't remember," Rose replied. "Life has been...crazy lately."

"That's okay. We can determine how far along you are when we do the ultrasound. Is this your first pregnancy?"

"Yes. Well, wait…no. I had a miscarriage when I was sixteen, about twelve years ago," Rose said. Bloody Jimmy Stone. What a nightmare that had been. She pushed the memories to the back of her mind, not needing any other fodder to fuel the tears she knew would eventually come.

"Okay. We'll just have to monitor you a little more carefully, watch for any possible problems. Any sexually transmitted diseases?" the doctor questioned.

"No, no sexually transmitted diseases," Rose replied.

The doctor proceeded to ask Rose a litany of other questions related to her medical history, her family's medical history. It seemed like it would never end. When the doctor asked about the father's medical history, she lied.

"Okay then. We need to do that ultrasound. Lie back, scoot your bum down to the end of the table, and put your feet up in the stirrups," the doctor instructed.

Rose did as she was told, staring up at the ceiling tiles. There was a brown stain on one of them. She hoped it wasn't due to leakage. A moment later, she felt first the doctor, then the ultrasound wand between her legs. She inhaled sharply when the doctor gently but firmly inserted the wand.

"Well I can confirm the diagnosis, you're definitely pregnant," the doctor said, pointing to an indistinct shape on the ultrasound screen. "I'd estimate about five or six weeks, give or take, which would put your due date around the last week in June or the first week in July. I'll print you a copy of the sonogram to take home."

Rose looked at the image of her baby on the screen and swallowed a lump in her throat. It didn't look remotely baby-like at this point, it mostly resembled a little bean Seeing it now though, she knew she would do anything to protect the tiny little life growing inside her. There was no way she was going to do anything other than keep it. Blinking rapidly, she fought back tears, wishing for all the world that John could've been there with her to see it.

The doctor, oblivious to Rose's crumbling facade, continued on. "I'm going to recommend you start a regimen of prenatal vitamins. They're all over the counter, so you won't need a prescription. I'll give you a list to take to the chemist. I'll also give you a list of guidelines-foods to avoid, things like that. I'm going to go and let you get cleaned up and dressed. When you're finished, you can go out to reception and make another appointment. I'm going to want to see you back here in a month, okay?"

"Yeah, alright," Rose said weakly, accepting the guidelines, list of vitamins and the printed sonogram image from the doctor's outstretched hand. She waited until the other woman had left to jump down from the exam table. She shrugged out of the paper gown, balled it up, tossed it into the bin, and quickly dressed. Out at reception, she scheduled her next appointment for the following month. She drove home from the doctor's on autopilot, the radio turned up to keep herself from thinking too much. The first thing she did upon returning to the cottage was to stick the sonogram up on the fridge with a magnet shaped like a conch shell.

For better or worse, she was going to have a baby.


	4. Chapter 4

A week after her doctor's appointment, Rose finally called Ellie. She was going barmy doing nothing but sitting around the house watching television, reading and sleeping. She needed to be doing something, other than sitting still.

"DS Miller," Ellie answered.

"Hey Ellie, it's Rose. Listen, I have a favor to ask. I was wondering if you could maybe help me find a job in town?" she asked, chewing on her fingernails.

"So you've decided to stay awhile then? That's brilliant. Yeah, of course, I'd be delighted to help you. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight, say 6pm? We can look through the want ads in the paper after we eat," Ellie said cheerfully.

"That would be great," Rose replied. "I'll see you at your house tonight."

"Alright. See ya later," Ellie said before hanging up.

Rose was perfectly capable of looking through the paper herself, but she was eager to get out of the cottage. She couldn't be a hermit forever. Perhaps being around other people would do her a bit of good.

Rose was on Ellie's porch promptly at 6pm. A young boy, maybe twelve or thirteen answered the door.

"You must be Tom," Rose said warmly. "Is your mum home?"

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen, fixing dinner. Come on in," Tom said, swinging the door open wide to admit her entrance. "Mum, the neighbor's here!"

Ellie ducked her head out of the kitchen. "Hi Rose. I'm just finishing up in here. Tea?"

"Yes, please," Rose answered, going to stand in the kitchen door. The room smelled pleasantly of cooking food. Her mouth was actually watering. Usually, she'd been forcing herself to eat, but tonight she actually felt hungry.

"Well don't just stand there. Have a seat," Ellie said, gesturing to the kitchen table. Rose pulled out a chair and sat down. Ellie placed a saucer of tea in front of her, then brought over the cream and sugar.

"So what's for dinner?" Rose asked conversationally, stirring sugar into her tea.

"Just baked chicken and gravy with carrots and potatoes. Nothing fancy," Ellie replied, flapping her hand dismissively.

"Well, it smells wonderful," Rose said honestly, taking a sip of her tea. The doorbell rang as she was placing her saucer back on the table.

Ellie wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. "Excuse me for a moment, I've got to go answer that."

She opened the door to see Alec Hardy standing on the porch, holding a bottle of wine. "What are you doing here?" she asked, confused.

Hardy raised his eyebrows at her. "It's Thursday. We always have dinner together on Thursdays. Unless you're sick of me, that is."

"Oh, goodness, of course. I'm sorry, it completely slipped my mind. Rose is over for dinner. I'm going to help her look through the paper for jobs afterwards," Ellie said apologetically, letting Hardy into the house.

He stepped into the kitchen and nodded politely at Rose. "Miss Tyler. Good to see you again. How's your head?"

"My head's fine, thanks for asking. And please, call me Rose. Miss Tyler makes me sound like a lonely librarian with fifteen cats," Rose said, allowing herself a light chuckle.

"Rose it is then. So, you're looking for a job in Broadchurch? I take that to mean you've decided to stay for a while?" he asked, taking the seat across from her at the table.

"For now, anyway. Kind of funny, I suppose. I used to hate the beach. Now, I find the sound of the ocean kind of comforting," she said.

"Aye, the ocean is soothing. You know why people find it so comforting, though? It's because the sound reminds us of being in the womb. It makes people feel safe," Alec replied conversationally.

"Huh. That actually kind of makes sense," Rose said, resting one hand on her abdomen. She felt a stab of melancholy-Hardy's explanation sounded exactly like something the Doctor would say.

"Tom, grab your brother and come down to wash your hands. It's time for dinner!" Ellie shouted up the stairs. She returned to the kitchen. "Alec, do you mind setting the table?"

"Slave driver, you are," he said teasingly, getting up from his seat. He moved comfortably around the kitchen, pulling out plates, glasses, and utensils. He placed a wine glass in front of Rose, and she shook her head at him.

"None for me, thanks. I'll just have water," she said.

"Suit yourself," he said, exchanging her wine glass for a regular tumbler.

Rose waited while Ellie helped Fred wash his hands, then filled her glass from the tap before resuming her seat at the table. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Nah, I've got it," Ellie said, sliding the roasting pan out of the oven and placing it in the middle of the table before taking her own seat between Tom and Fred. She waited for the adults to serve themselves before plating the boys' food.

"So Tom, how was school today?" Alec asked, spearing a potato with his fork.

"Fine," the boy replied noncommittally, cutting into his chicken.

"You learn anything interesting?" Alec pressed.

"Not really," Tom answered, pushing the food around his plate.

Ellie frowned. "Don't be rude."

"I'm not. Nothing interesting happened today. Maths, English, history. It's all pretty boring," Tom said, taking a bite of chicken.

"Yeah, I wasn't much fond of school when I was your age, either," Rose said. "I never took my A-Level's. Looking back now, I wish I had. School's important, y'know? Even if it does seem boring at times."

"I suppose. Not as though I plan on becoming a brain surgeon, though," Tom said.

"Alright mister, that's quite enough of your sass. What's gotten into you?" Ellie chided.

"Nothing, mum. Sorry," he mumbled.

Seeing that conversation with Tom was apparently a lost cause, Alec turned to Rose. "So, what kind of work are you looking for?"

"Nothing in particular. Just something to get me out of the house. You can only watch so many reruns of Coupling before you start to feel like you're losing your mind," Rose replied.

"I don't watch much television, honestly. More of a book reader myself," Alec said.

"Oh? Who's your favorite author?" Rose asked.

"I've always been a fan of Dickens," Alec replied. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood is probably my favorite."

Rose almost choked on her water before regaining her composure. The Mystery of Edwin Drood had been the Doctor's favorite as well, despite the fact that it didn't have a proper ending. "I've never read that one."

"Oh, you should. It's brilliant," Alec said with a grin. "I could loan you my copy, if you like."

"Yeah, sure. That'd be nice," Rose said, her voice strained.

"You alright?" Ellie asked, concern in her voice.

"Fine, fine. Just swallowed wrong," Rose replied. "So...DI Hardy. How long have you been in police work?"

"No need to call me DI Hardy. Just Alec will do. I'm off duty," he answered. "I've been in police work...oh, about seventeen or eighteen years now. Got into when I was still a young man. What sort of work did you used to do?"

"I was a secretary," Rose lied. A phone call to Pete would be easy enough to sort that out. Unfortunately, Defender of Earth wasn't exactly something she could put on a resume. Torchwood operations were kept mostly secret from the public. "When I was younger, I worked in the shops."

The rest of dinner passed by uneventfully. Ellie and Alec made small talk about work, not referring to anything too specific. Tom finished his meal and excused himself to do his homework.

"I'll go have a chat with Tom," Alec said, getting up from the table. "Maybe I can find out what's bothering him."

"Not bloody likely," Ellie quipped. "He hasn't been much of a talker since Danny died. Do you mind taking Fred into the living room? Put on some cartoons for him."

"All the same, I figure I should at least ask," Alec said kindly, picking the younger child up from his seat and balancing him on his hip as he left the kitchen.

Rose helped Ellie clear the dishes from the table. "It's nice...how concerned he is for the boys," she said.

"Yeah. With Joe out of the picture, he's kind of become a surrogate father to them," Ellie responded, spreading the newspaper out on the table. "I'm glad to have him around."

"Are you two…together?" Rose asked, nervous as to what the reply would be.

"God, no!" Ellie laughed. "It's not like that at all. We're just mates. Neither of us are seeing anyone right now. Besides, dating the boss is an excellent way to get sacked."

"Oh, okay," Rose said, relieved by the response. And why did she care all of a sudden if the detective was involved or not?

"Now let's have a look at this paper, see what we can find. The second-hand book shop is looking for a cashier. Although it says you'd be required to lift and unpack shipments of books, so maybe not. Can't be doing that in your condition," Ellie said matter of factually. "Speaking of...did you ever call Doctor Morris?"

"I saw her last week. I...I've decided to keep the baby," Rose said quietly. "I'm due in July."

"Oh Rose, that's wonderful news," Ellie said with a smile, squeezing her hand gently. "You'll make a brilliant mum."

"That's kind of you to say," Rose said, returning the smile.

"Let's see. Starbucks is hiring baristas, no experience required. Tesco's is hiring cashiers, but I bet that'd be tedious. Oh! Here's a good one. There's an opening for a receptionist at a doctor's office in town, forty hours a week. What do you think about that?" Ellie asked, pointing to the ad in the paper.

"That could work," Rose agreed, chewing on her thumbnail. Ellie circled the ad in bright red pen.

"Say, do you want me to borrow Tom's laptop? We could check craigslist, they've always got jobs going there," Ellie offered.

"Oh, I've got a computer at home. I can check it later. Besides, you always have to wade through the crap jobs and pyramid schemes to find anything good on there," Rose replied, remembering when John had been searching for a job back when they'd first returned to Pete's world. He'd refused a position at Torchwood, though Pete had offered several times. That was how he'd ended up teaching at the college. Rose swallowed heavily. If he had accepted a position at Torchwood, he'd probably still be alive, and wasn't that ironic?

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I haven't had to look for work in a while. I guess I'm a bit out of touch," Ellie said, continuing to scan the paper. "Here's another full-time, telemarketing. Doesn't say what they're selling, though. Could be sketchy. Though it looks like they need a part-time receptionist at the Ford dealership. That's right on the edge of town."

"That would be funny. I drive a Fiesta. S'good car," Rose said, twisting her hair around her fingers.

"Well if you do end up working there, maybe you can get me a deal on a new car. I've been driving the same old clunker for ten years now. Might be about time for an upgrade," Ellie said, circling the ad for the car dealership.

Together, they scanned the rest of the paper, circling the jobs that appealed to Rose and crossing out the ones that didn't. When all was said and done, she had over half a dozen prospective jobs to apply for.

"It's a good start. Thanks for your help. And dinner," Rose said, collecting the paper and getting up from the table. "It's getting late though, I should probably be going home. I'm going to start putting in applications first thing in the morning."

"No problem. It was my pleasure," Ellie said, vacating her chair so she could walk Rose to the door. "You're welcome back for dinner again next Thursday, if you'd like."

"That'd be lovely. And really Ellie...thanks for everything. You've been a big help since I got here," Rose said sincerely as she stepped out onto the porch.

"Like I said before. Everyone needs a friend," Ellie said, closing the door behind her.

Rose walked back across the street, the paper folded underneath her arm. It was only when she got to the bottom of her steps that she noticed the figure hanging in the shadows of the porch.

"Jake!" she gasped, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Took some time off, figured I'd come and see you. I didn't think you'd want to be alone this weekend," he said, stepping out of the shadows and into the light. He stubbed out the cigarette he was smoking on the bottom of his shoe.

"Why, what's so special about this weekend?" she asked, confused.

Jake raised his eyebrows at her. "Sunday. It's the 23rd. John's birthday," he said evenly.

"Oh my God, I completely forgot," Rose said, her voice laden with guilt. "I've been trying not to think about him lately...it must've slipped my mind. I was just having dinner with my neighbor and the detective. You should've called me. How long have you been out here waiting?"

"Not long," Jake replied. "Maybe twenty minutes, tops. The detective, eh? Would that be the one who looks like John?"

"None other. Well come on in, it's a bit chilly out here," Rose said, unlocking the door. She walked into the living room and flipped on the lights. "You're going to have to sleep on the sofa, unless you want to share the bed with me. I warn you though, I'm a bit of a thrasher."

"Tell me something I didn't already know," Jake said, grinning. "It wouldn't be the first time we've shared a bed. Besides, you can't be any worse than Bobby. He snores like a freight train."

"How is Bobby?" Rose asked, kicking off her shoes.

"He's fine. Just got promoted, actually. They've made him a partner at the law firm," Jake answered proudly.

"That's great!" Rose exclaimed, genuinely happy to hear the news. "I know he's been working his arse off to get there for a while now."

"Yeah, well, it's about damn time they recognized how good he is," Jake replied, taking off his own shoes. "Say, you want to watch some Netflix or something? I'm still wired from the drive, not quite ready for bed yet."

"Yeah, go ahead and put something on. Maybe a comedy? I'm just going to go get changed into my jimjams," Rose said, making for the bedroom. She didn't bother closing the door behind her-she'd undressed in front of Jake before, during missions, and anyway, it wasn't as though he looked at her like that. Jake was her sassy gay best friend, and she loved him for it. When she'd first come to Pete's world, after the battle at Canary Wharf, Jake and Mickey were the ones who had really helped her to work through the grief of being separated from the Doctor. With Mickey returned to their home universe, Jake was one of the few friends she had left here. She stripped down to just her knickers and rifled through the armoire, finally finding the slouchy old jogging bottoms she liked to wear to bed. She threw on one of John's old tshirts over top, dark blue with 'King's College' emblazoned across the front, and went back to join Jake on the sofa. He'd put on Fawlty Towers, which he knew was one of her favorites.

"Oh, brilliant. I love this episode," Rose said, squeezing in next to Jake on the sofa. He draped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer. She was grateful for the friendly comfort. They sat like that for a while before Jake disentangled himself from her.

"I'm just going to get something to drink. You want anything?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Help yourself. The glasses are in the cabinet to the left of the sink," she answered, engrossed by the comedic antics of John Cleese.

"Um, Rose?" Jake said, coming back out into the living room.

"Yeah?" she replied, looking up at him. He was holding the sonogram up in his hand.

"Something you want to tell me?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, um, yeah. Dad used to rent this place out, I guess the last person who stayed here must have left it behind," she said, fidgeting.

"Rose, it has your name on it," Jake replied, not unkindly. "And I reiterate-you are a shit liar."

"Oh, bollocks," she muttered. She'd been found out.

Jake came to sit next to her on the sofa, the sonogram still clasped in his right hand. "How long have you known?"

"Not long," she replied shakily. "John never knew. I only found out right after I got to Broadchurch."

"Why didn't you say something?" Jake asked gently.

"Because I can't deal with any more pity and sympathy. If I said something, my parents would want me to come back to London, and I just can't deal with it. Everyone at home and work treated me like I was made of glass, and I hated it. It's bad enough, becoming a widow before I even got married, I don't want to be the poor, unfortunate woman pregnant with a dead man's baby, too," Rose said vehemently.

"Have you told anyone?" Jake asked.

"You, the neighbor, and my doctor are the only ones who know. Jake, please-you can't tell my parents. I'm just not ready to have that conversation yet," Rose pleaded.

"Alright, easy there. I'm not going to tell anyone. That's your news to share, not mine. But Rose...you can't hide this forever. At some point, you're going to have to talk to your family," Jake said.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there," Rose replied dismissively. "Anyway...I'm knackered. I'm going to head to bed. Are you going to sleep out here or with me?"

"What would you prefer?" Jake asked, regarding her much too seriously.

"I wouldn't mind the company," she answered honestly.

"Alright. I'm going to get changed and I'll be in in a minute," he replied, opening his overnight bag.

"Kay," Rose said, unfolding herself from the sofa. She padded softly to the bedroom, turned down the covers, and climbed into bed. She set her alarm for 8:00am, still serious about hitting the job trail first thing in the morning. Jake settled into bed beside her.

"Night," she said, clicking the lamp off.

"G'night, Rosie," he replied, snuggling against her.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Rose had driven all across Broadchurch and God's creation picking up applications, she felt worn out. She'd called Pete earlier that morning and asked him to arrange some fake references for her that lined up with what she'd told Ellie the night before. She'd already been to the local library to print copies of the resume her step-father had cobbled together for her at the last minute. Still, the day was far from over. She ordered lunch at a small cafe in the center of town. Betweens bites of soup and salad, she filled out applications in her flowing handwriting, stapling copies of her resume to them when she had finished. She left some money on the table and made her way back to her car. With dismay, she noticed that the passenger side window was completely shattered.

"Son of a bitch!" she hissed, surveying the damage to her car. There hadn't even been anything of value in there besides the GPS, which was, of course, missing. She fumbled her mobile out of her pocket and selected Ellie's number from her contacts. It went straight to voicemail.

"Shit!" she cursed, drawing glances from people passing by. One man saw her broken window and clucked sympathetically.

Quickly, she looked up the police non-emergency number and dialed. It rang twice before connecting. "Broadchurch Police dispatch, how may I direct your call?" a pleasant sounding woman asked.

"I'm right outside the Blue Sky Cafe. Someone's broken into my car," Rose said.

"What's your name, hon?" the woman asked.

"Rose Tyler," she replied tersely.

"Alright, Rose. I'll send an officer over to you directly. It shouldn't be more than ten minutes," the woman replied.

"Thank you," Rose said, disconnecting the call.

She was only half surprised when a few minutes later, Alec Hardy pulled up behind her car. "Looks like you've had a spot of bad luck," he said, strolling up to her with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, just a bit," she said. "Why'd they send you? Surely a DI has better things to do than respond to a burglary call."

"Well I heard your name and I offered to take the call. Wanted to make sure you were alright," he said.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just..pissed. This is the last thing I need right now."

"I'll take a few photos for the record. You can fill out a report back at the station. Why don't you call for a tow truck?" he suggested.

"Yeah, alright," she agreed, taking her mobile back out. She looked up the number for the local garage and called to request a tow while Alec snapped pictures of her broken window with his phone. "They said it might be half an hour before they can get a truck out here."

"I'll wait with you," he said amiably, leaning against the car.

She pursed her lips, anxious at the idea of having to make small talk with him for thirty minutes. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned against a lamp post.

"Well, aside from the fact that it's quite stupid to break into someone's car in broad daylight, the thief apparently missed that security camera right there," Alec said, pointing to a post a short distance away.

Rose turned to look, spotting the camera right away. "It was probably some dumb kid. All they took was my GPS, there was nothing else in the car, thankfully. Insurance will cover a new window...it just sucks," she said, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Aye, it's unfortunate," Alec agreed."What were you doing in town?"

"I was filling out job applications. Course now without my car for who knows how long, I'm sort of out of commission," she said, obviously frustrated.

"I'm sure Ellie wouldn't mind taking you to drop them off. Or, you know, I could take you. I owe you one for driving me home in that storm," he offered casually.

"My friend Jake is visiting. He can take me," she said shortly.

"Just offering," Hardy said, holding his hands up.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," she replied curtly, chewing on her fingernail. At this rate, she was going to have no nails left.

"Have I done something to offend you?" he asked, bemused.

She looked up at him, startled. "No. What makes you say that?"

"Nothing, it's just you've made it perfectly clear since I got here that you wish I hadn't come," he said with no malice in his tone.

Rose blushed furiously. "I'm sorry. I told you...it's just difficult to be around you. With you looking like my dead fiance and all."

"Yes, right," Hardy said, stroking his chin. "Do you want me to go? I can get another officer to take you back to the station to fill out the report...if you'd prefer."

"No, no. You're already here, you've gone out of your way. I can deal with it," she answered.

They lapsed into uncomfortable silence. Blessedly, the tow truck arrived after only twenty minutes. Rose spoke briefly with the driver before following Hardy back to his car. They didn't talk on the way to the station, either, to Rose's relief. She filled out the incident report, and Hardy drove her back to the cottage.

"Thanks," she told him before getting out of the car.

"Any time," he replied before driving off.

Jake was standing out on the porch, smoking a cigarette. "Why did the police drop you off?"

Rose squared her shoulders and walked up to join him on the porch. "Some asshole broke into my car. I had to have it towed to a garage."

"Blimey, I'm sorry. Did you at least get a chance to drop off those applications?" he asked.

"No," she sighed. "I had just finished filling the last of them out when I went back to my car and saw that the window was broken. I was going to ask if you wouldn't mind driving me around to drop them off."

"Jake's Taxi, at your service," he said, gesturing to the Torchwood-issue black SUV parked in the drive. He pulled a key fob from his pocket and clicked it twice, unlocking the car.

"Let me just lock up the house," Rose said, getting her keys from her purse. She made sure the door was secured before joining Jake in the car. Dutifully, he drove her across across town, waiting while she dropped off each application. By the time they returned to the cottage, it was almost 5:00pm.

"What do you want to do for dinner? Any cravings?" Jake asked as they walked back up the stairs to the cottage.

"Not really. Honestly, I've been forcing myself to eat because I know I have to, not because I want to. Why don't you pick?" she replied, unlocking the door.

"Do you have any menus?" he questioned.

She frowned. "I think there are some in the drawer in the kitchen, but they're probably old. I can get out my laptop and we can check UrbanSpoon or something," she offered.

"Yeah, alright. Sounds good," he agreed, taking a seat at the table. Her laptop was still plugged in from earlier that morning, when she'd been looking up addresses for the local businesses. She took a seat and shoved the computer in Jake's direction. He spent a few minutes hemming and hawing over the various listings and reviews.

"How do you feel about Vietnamese?" he asked finally.

"They have Vietnamese in Broadchurch?" she asked, surprised.

"Apparently. Pho Cali, it got good reviews," he said, passing the laptop back over so she could look at the menu.

"You know I've dined across the universe, and I've never had Vietnamese food," she admitted, scanning the menu. "Looks good, though. And damn, two pints of soup is only three quid."

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Think I'll get the beef pho, maybe a banh mi," Jake said.

"Ah, it's got pate on it. I can't eat that," she said, rubbing her stomach. "Order me a beef pho, too, would you? And maybe some spring rolls, extra peanut sauce. I'm going to go get into something more comfortable."

She left Jake to order their food and went to the bedroom. She shucked her clothes, glad to be out of the too-tight trousers and jumper. She donned her jogging bottoms and a clean tshirt and went to lounge in the living room.

"It'll be about forty-five minutes," Jake told her, taking a seat beside her on the sofa. "So, you want to watch more Fawlty Towers?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I could use a laugh after the day I've had. You too, I'd imagine," she said, turning on the television. The next thing she knew, she was jerking awake to the sound of the doorbell. She was apparently more tired than she realized.

"That'll be the food," Jake said, getting up to answer the door.

"There's cash in my purse," she called after him.

"Nah, it's on me," Jake said over his shoulder. He returned a moment later carrying a paper bag spotted with grease.

"You want to eat out here?" he asked, holding up the bag.

"Yeah, just be careful. Don't want to get soup on Pete's sofa," she said. Jake placed the bag on the coffee table and began unpacking their food. He handed Rose her soup and a spoon before resuming his seat. He unwrapped his sandwich and crowed with delight. They ate in silence, the only sounds slurping and chewing and the occasional laugh directed at the television. In spite of the day's stressful events, Rose felt the most at ease she'd been in a while. It was good to have Jake's company. She'd be sad to see him return to London.

"So how long were you planning on staying?" she asked, polishing off the last spring roll.

"Figured I'd leave Monday morning. Can't escape Torchwood for too long," he said wryly.

"Sounds like you expect the place to spontaneously combust in your absence," she teased.

"It might well do," he said with a laugh. "Still, I'm sure Pete has it under control. Probably."

She rolled her eyes good naturedly at him. "Gee, it's heartwarming to see how much faith you have in my step-father."

"Oh, come on, you know I'm just joshing. Pete's perfectly capable," Jake retorted.

"So, you up to getting your ass kicked in Scrabble?" she asked, eyes dancing.

"Oh, you're on!"

i"Where are you?"

Inside the TARDIS. There's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a super nova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye.

"You look like a ghost."

Hold on.

"Can I..?"

I'm still just an image. No touch.

"Can't you come through properly?"

The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse.

"So?"

Where are we? Where did the gap come out?

"We're in Norway."

Norway. Right.

"About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."

Dalek?

"Dårlig. It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay. How long have we got?"

About two minutes.

"I can't think of what to say!"

You've still got Mister Mickey, then?

"There's five of us now. Mum, dad, Mickey...and the baby."

You're not…?

"No. It's mum. She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way."

And what about you? What are you…?

"Yeah, I'm back working in the shop."

Oh. Good for you.

"Shut up. No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet. It's open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."

Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth! You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead. Here you are, living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have.

"Am I ever going to see you again?"

You can't.

"What are you going to do?"

Oh, I've got the TARDIS. Same old life, last of the Time Lords.

"On your own? I...I love you."

Quite right, too. And I suppose...if it's my last chance to say it. Rose Tyler-/i

Rose awoke with a start, her heart lurching inside her chest and her head pounding. Tears streamed down her cheeks. A strangled cry escaped her lips as she curled into herself, shaking with the force of her grief. It had been years since she'd dreamt of Bad Wolf Bay, and even now, the pain of it tore through her mercilessly. Besides her, Jake stirred and sat up. Wordlessly, he gathered her into his arms and began to rock her.

"Shh, it's okay. Just let it all out, Rose. Let it all out," he whispered soothingly, stroking her hair.

"I don't know if I can do this, Jake," she whimpered pitifully.

"Of course you can do it. You're Rose Tyler," he said reassuringly.

"Oh God, it just hurts so bad!" she sobbed, still shaking even as Jake held her.

:"I know, love. I know. Here, you stay here. I'm gonna make you a cup of tea, okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, alright," she sniffled in response, wiping her eyes on the hem of her tshirt. She glanced over at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. Sunday. John's birthday. Of course she had dreamt of the Doctor, of course. Because the universe obviously had some sort of vendetta against her. She buried her face in her pillow and wept brokenly.

Jake bustled back into the bedroom, holding a steaming mug of tea. "Here you are. PG Tips, cream and sugar, just how you like it," he said, holding the mug out to her.

Gratefully, she accepted the mug from him, blowing across the surface of the tea to cool it down. She sipped it quietly and carefully, her shakes having finally subsided. "Is this ever going to get easier?" she asked him softly.

"Only time will tell, love. Only time will tell," he sighed. "It hasn't been that long since John...yeah. Anyway, you've got to give yourself time. This is a normal part of the grieving process."

"I dreamt about him. The Doctor. The worst day of my life. I told that stupid git that I loved him, and y'know what he said?" Rose choked out bitterly

"Quite right, too," Jake quoted.

"I mean, who does that? Nevermind the fact that I crossed universes to find him again and he just dumped me and John here without even asking us if that was what we wanted. I waited years to have him complete that sentence, and he couldn't even do that. He left without even saying goodbye!"

"Stage two. You're making progress," Jake said lightly.

"What?" she asked him.

"Anger. It's the second stage of grief," Jake said, playing with the edge of the duvet.

"You're goddamn right I'm angry. When was the last time there was even a school shooting in England? I mean you expect that stuff to happen in America, but not here. The police don't even carry guns, for fuck's sake! God, and he almost stayed home that night, too. Tony really wanted to go trick or treating with the both of us, but John said he couldn't afford to miss class, wouldn't be fair to his students. You know what's not fair? That John's dead and I'm alive, and now I'm going to have to raise our baby without him. He was part Time Lord, he should've outlived me by a long stretch. All those things we saw, all those things we did together, all the danger we faced...and he dies from a bloody gunshot wound because he was too human to regenerate," Rose said, her voice wavering.

Jake didn't say anything. What was there to say? He just sat and listened, knowing that this was probably the first time Rose had talked about John's death with anyone at length. She obviously needed to get these things off her chest. He was just glad that she trusted him enough to tell him.

"You know what the worst thing is?" Rose said softly. "The last time I talked to him, we fought."

"About what?" Jake asked, rubbing his hand up and down her arm soothingly.

"Torchwood. We fought about Torchwood. He didn't want me going out in the field any more for missions. He was worried I'd get killed and he'd be left on his own," she said with a watery, wry little laugh. "The fucking irony of it all. I'll regret that forever, fighting with him. I was so pissed, I didn't tell him I loved him before he left."

"John knew that you loved him. Don't ever doubt that," Jake said seriously.

"I know that, of course I do. But I can't help feeling guilty," she said, worrying her thumbnail.

"John wouldn't want you to eat yourself alive with guilt, Rose. No one could've possibly predicted what was going to happen. But you know what?" he said, resting his open palm against her belly. "He would be iso/i happy about this baby."

Rose sniffed. "He really would, y'know? He would be over the moon. I was saying to my neighbor just last week that this is the last gift he'll ever give me."

"That's a beautiful way to think of it," Jake said sagely. "Are you feeling a little better now at least? Now that you got all that off your chest?"

"I suppose," she sighed.

"Good. Now, I'm going to recommend we try to go back to bed, because it is entirely too early to be awake on a Sunday," Jake declared.


	6. Chapter 6

Alec pulled his Yugo into Rose's driveway, parking next to a large black SUV. He walked up onto the porch, rang the bell and waited, bouncing up and down on his heels. After a few moments, a blond guy with spiky hair answered the door.

"DI Alec Hardy, I presume," he said with a sneer.

"That's me," Alec replied, nonplussed. "And you would be…?"

"Jake Simmonds. I'm a friend of Rose. What do you want?" Jake asked, narrowing his eyes at the other man.

"I came by to drop off a book to Rose. Is she home?" Alec asked, quashing his irritation and trying to remain pleasant.

"Yeah, she is, but she's had a rough night, and believe me mate, /iyou/i are the last person in the world she wants to see right now," Jack said matter of factually.

"Jake, who is it?" Rose asked, coming up behind him. "Oh. It's you."

Alec held up the book. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood, as promised."

Jake was still standing in the doorway, blocking Alec from Rose. "Jake, it's alright," she said, pushing past him. "Did you want to come in for a cup of tea? We just had a late breakfast, there's some pancakes leftover, if you're interested."

"Ah, I'm good on the pancakes. I've always preferred waffles myself. But I'd love a cup of tea, if you're offering," Alec said, handing Rose the book with a smile.

"Rose, I really don't think that's a good idea," Jake asserted.

She gave him a sharp look. "Thank you for your opinion Jake, but it's fine. Really. Alec, please come in," she said graciously, stepping back into the house. Alec followed behind her and Jake slammed the door shut behind them with a defeated sigh and a very exaggerated rolling of his eyes.

Rose bustled into the kitchen ahead of the two men, snatching the sonogram off the fridge and stashing it in a drawer. No way she was falling into that particular trap again. She set the book down on the counter, grabbed the electric kettle out of the cabinet and went to the sink to fill it with water. Alec and Jake both hovered anxiously in the doorway.

"Are you two gonna stand there like dodos all day? Sit down already, you're making me nervous," Rose admonished, thinking to herself that she sounded like her mother even as she was saying it. The two men exchanged a glance before each taking a seat at the kitchen table. Jake immediately began fidgeting anxiously, pulling at his ear and playing with a loose thread on his sleeve.

"You know if there's something you'd rather be doing, you're free to go. We're all adults here, I don't think Alec and I need a chaperone for a cup of tea," Rose said, not unkindly.

Jake pursed his lips. "Fine. I'm gonna go for a run on the beach, leave you two to it," he said, standing up. He fixed Alec with a frosty stare. "If I find out you've upset her, I will hunt you down and break both of your legs, and maybe your arms, and then your stupid face. Got it?"

"Duly noted," Alec replied dryly, choosing not to take the bait.

They waited until they heard the front door slam to look back at each other.

"Sorry," Rose said apologetically. "Jake can be a little...intense at times. Your face isn't stupid."

"A little?" Alec said, quirking his eyebrows. "Anyway, it's alright. I've experienced worse in the line of duty. He's just looking out for you, that's all. Like any good friend would do."

Rose plunked two mugs down on the counter and filled them with steaming hot water from the kettle. "I've got Earl Grey and PG Tips. What would you prefer?"

"Earl Grey is fine," Alec replied.

"Cream? Sugar? Lemon?"

"Just lemon, thanks," he said, accepting the steaming mug from her. She tossed him a packet of tea, and he caught it easily in one hand. She fixed her own drink at the counter before bringing him a small plate with two lemon wedges and sitting back down.

"So thanks for bringing that book over," she said, stirring her tea studiously to avoid looking at him.

"The pleasure is all mine. Rose…?" he said hesitantly.

She looked up from her tea. "Yeah?"

"Look...I just want you to know, I'm not trying to replace your fiance. I don't expect that I could, nor do I want to. I just want to be your friend, if you'll let me. I know what it's like, being the new person in town. Broadchurch is a small, tight-knit community. They don't take kindly to outsiders, especially not since Danny Latimer's murder. I've been here nearly two years now and Miller...er, Ellie is the only real friend I have," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Mind you, that might be because I'm a bit of a bastard."

Rose laughed, a tinkling and melodious sound that warmed his heart hearing it from the girl who had been immeasurably sad as long as he'd known her. She reached out across the table, took his free hand in her own, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I really appreciate that. And I'm sorry I've been so cold to you lately. I'd like it if we could be friends."

Alec relaxed a bit and smiled back at her. "I'd like that, too."

"It's funny. You shaved off that silly beard, and now you look just like him. Sideburns, glasses and all," Rose said, tracing patterns on the tabletop with her finger.

"Would you prefer I grow it back?" he asked, looking at her over his mug of tea.

"No. I've never much liked beards or moustaches on men. It's all scratchy when you kiss," she said, wrinkling her nose. Then she immediately blushed scarlet, realizing what she'd said. "Oh. I didn't mean…"

"No no no. Of course not," he said quickly.

"Right," she said.

"There we are then," he replied.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Rose finally spoke. "It would've been his 35th birthday today."

Alec's eyes softened considerably. "I'm sorry. Did you want me to go?"

"No! I mean...no. You can stay. I'd like you to stay," she said thickly.

"Could I take you out to dinner sometime?" he blurted.

"What?" Rose said, raising her eyebrows.

"Just as friends, of course," he clarified. "It's no fun going out to eat on your own, and there are so many restaurants around here I'd like to try. It's difficult for Ellie to get out, what with the kids and all."

"Yeah, alright," Rose said, examining an invisible spot on her jumper. "When were you thinking?"

"How about Thursday at six?" he asked.

"What about dinner with Ellie?" she replied.

His eyes crinkled. "Miller deserves a night off from me. I mean, she does have to work with my sorry arse every day. I'm sure she won't miss us for one night."

"Alright, Thursday it is. And you're buying, Mister Detective Inspector," she said, her tongue involuntarily poking its way through her teeth.

By the time Jake got back from his run, Alec had left. Rose was in the kitchen, cleaning up the breakfast dishes. She glanced over her shoulder at Jake when he entered the kitchen, but didn't say anything. He cleared his throat pointedly. She had a feeling she already knew what was coming. The inevitable inquisition.

"So how was tea with the detective?" he asked, trying to sound casual and failing miserably at it.

"It was fine," Rose said tersely. "It was just tea."

"Yeah? What'd you guys talk about?" Jake asked, coming to lean beside her on the counter.

"Just stuff. Broadchurch. He's taking me out to dinner on Thursday," she replied.

"What?" Jake said, his eyebrows shooting up. "Like a date?"

"No, not like a date. Like friends. He just wants a mate, Jake."

"He just wants ito mate/i?"

"iA/i mate, Jake. A mate. Just a friend," she replied, irritated.

"He's not the Doctor. Or John," Jake said stiffly.

Rose shot him a dirty look. "You think I don't know that? He might have John's face, but they couldn't be more different. And at this point in my life, I could use a few friends."

"You have friends in London."

"I already told you, I'm not going back there. Not now, maybe not ever," she said evenly.

"So you're just going to stay here and hang out with a man who looks like your dead fiance? I think the hormones are making you crazy," he said, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"How dare you," she said, her voice gone dangerously soft. "You take that back right this instant, or get out of my house right now."

"It's not your house, it's Pete's."

"I don't bloody care!" she shouted, finally losing her patience. "You're supposed to be my friend. Either you support me, or you don't. And if you don't, you can sod right off, okay? Who I associate with is my business. I'm not a child, certainly not yours, at that."

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "But I just want to go on record as saying that I think this is the single iworst/i idea in the history of the universe. You're gonna get yourself hurt."

"Thank you for your comments. Your opinion has been noted," she replied sarcastically.

"Rose, I don't want to fight with you," Jake said, holding up his hands in supplication.

"So don't. Just drop it," she said, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

"Fine," he replied, hands on his hips.

"Good," she snapped back, mimicking his stance.

"So...you want to watch a movie? Maybe one of John's favorites?" he asked, his tone conciliatory.

"Yeah, alright," she acquiesced, the fight going out of her.

Monday morning before Jake left to go back to London, he dropped off Rose at the garage to pick up her car. Tuesday, the local handmade soap shop called her in for an interview. Wednesday, they offered her the job. She was slated to start the following Monday. By the time Thursday rolled around, she was in relatively high spirits, all things considered. She was, however, quite nervous about her dinner non-date with Alec Hardy. The morning was spent shopping for something to wear. After hours spent combing the shops, she finally picked out a simple black v-neck dress that accentuated her curves and cut off just above the knees. She also treated herself to a new pair of matching black kitten heels to complete the ensemble. That afternoon, she stopped off at a nail salon and got a mani/pedi in a dark shade of blue that reminded her of the TARDIS. When she got home, she took a long, hot shower, taking the time to shave her legs for the first time in weeks. When she got out of the shower, she quickly dressed and put her hair up in hot-rollers before going to work on her makeup. Nothing too intense, just a little mascara and some lippy. The last thing she did was put on jewelry-a pair of tiny sapphire earrings Pete had given her last year for her birthday, and a simple silver infinity sign on a delicate chain, one of the first gifts John had given her after arriving in Pete's world. She was scrutinizing her appearance in the armoire mirror, wondering if it was too much, when the doorbell rang. She glanced over at the clock, startled to see that it was already six o'clock.

When she opened the door, Alec was standing on the other side, dressed in a dark grey suit and holding a bouquet of red and yellow Gerbera daisies.

"You brought flowers. I thought this wasn't a date," she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Sorry, it's been a long time since I've done this. Taken a woman out, I mean," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I've been out of circulation for a while."

"Well," she said, giving him a smile. "At least they aren't roses."

Alec laughed. "Even I know better than that. Too cliche."

"Let me get these into some water, and then we can go," she said, leaving him waiting on the porch. She went to the kitchen, filled a large pitcher with water, put it on the table and plunked the daisies into it. She picked up her purse from its place on the floor and went to join Alec on the porch. She locked the door and turned to look at him. "Shall we go?"

"We shall," he said, walking down the steps to the driveway where his car was parked. He opened Rose's door first before going back around to the driver's side and getting in.

"Did you tell Ellie we were going out tonight?" she asked him as he backed out of the drive.

"Yeah," he replied.

"And what did she say?" Rose pressed.

"Well, she was surprised. But she told me to have a good time. I'm sure she'll be calling you later for the details," he said with a chuckle. "By the way...you look lovely tonight."

"Thanks. You're not looking half bad yourself. So where are we going?" she asked, fiddling with her engagement ring.

"I thought Italian? There's a nice little place downtown I've been wanting to check out. Caprese's Cafe. That alright with you?"

"Italian. That's a lot of garlic for a first date," she teased.

"Would you prefer something else?" he asked, regarding her seriously.

"No, Italian's fine," she replied.

They made idle chatter on the way to the restaurant. Rose told Alec about her new job, Alec told her he thought they might have figured out who had broken into her car. As it turned out it was a teenager, just as she'd originally suspected. They pulled up to the restaurant at 6:15. Again, Alec came around to open Rose's door before ushering her into the cafe. Right as they were sitting down at their table, her mobile began to ring. She glanced down at the caller ID. It was her mum. Jackie had called her several times since she'd gotten to Broadchurch, and Rose had steadily skirted all of them. She didn't want her mother to ask how she was doing, only to have to lie about the man she was about to take dinner with and her pregnancy.

"Do you need to take that?" Alec asked.

"No. It's no one I want to talk to right now. Besides, we're out to dinner. It'd be rude," she said, letting the call go to voicemail. Her phone pinged, indicating she had a new message. She put it on silent and shoved it in her purse. They ordered their drinks (red wine for Alec, water for Rose) and opened their menus. "It all looks so good. I don't know what I want."

"The reviews online said the chicken piccata is one of their best dishes," Alec replied, scanning the menu. "I always get chicken, though. I think I might get the shrimp scampi."

"Well, I'm sold on the chicken piccata," Rose said, closing her menu. Shortly thereafter, their server appeared to take their orders before disappearing back into the kitchen, leaving them to talk. There were only two other couples in the cafe, and the lighting was dim. Classical music played softly in the background, though not loud enough to discourage conversation. The server reappeared with their salads.

"How did your talk with Tom go last week after dinner?" she asked him, spearing a tomato with her fork. "Did you find out what was bothering him?"

"Yeah," Alec sighed, laying down his own fork. "He got in a fight with another kid in the loo. Apparently, the bully du jour wanted to taunt him about the fact that his father is a murderer."

"That poor kid," she said. "I imagine it has to be hard for him, especially in such a small town. It's not like he can change schools or anything."

"Yeah, but he'll be alright. He has a pretty thick skin, honestly, it's just that day in particular it really got to him," Alec said, resuming eating his salad.

"You're so good with Ellie's kids. Do you have any of your own?" she asked.

"One," he said. "A daughter. Daisy. She's sixteen. Her mother and I split up a while ago, though. I don't get to see her nearly half as often as I'd like."

"I'm sorry," Rose replied sympathetically. "I didn't know."

"Such is life. It could be worse," he said. The unspoken statement, 'at least she's not dead', hung in the air. Alec cleared his throat and took a sip of his wine. "Honestly, I'm lucky. Some dads never even know they have kids."

Rose choked on her water. Concerned, Alec got up and thumped her on the back. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she gasped.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah. Just went down the wrong pipe is all," she replied quickly, eager to move on to the next topic. She was spared when the server brought their entrees and cleared away their salad bowls.

"How's your chicken?" Alec asked after she'd had a chance to taste it.

"Gorgeous. You want a bite?" she said, holding her fork out to him.

Awkwardly, he accepted the bite of chicken from her. "That is pretty good," he said thoughtfully.

"How's your shrimp scampi?" she asked.

"Standard. Maybe I should've gotten the chicken after all," he admitted.

"Oh well. Now you know for next time," she said, tucking into her food. They ate in relatively comfortable silence, aside from some small talk about the weather and other things. When the server returned, they ordered a cup of hazelnut gelato to share for dessert. After they'd finished, Alec paid the bill and they returned to the car.

"Shall I walk you to your door?" he asked when they'd pulled into her driveway.

"You don't need to. I had a really nice time tonight. Thank you."

Alec grinned at her. "The pleasure was all mine."

Without warning, Rose grabbed him by the lapels and kissed him square on the mouth. Alec let out a surprised little squeak, but returned the kiss, swiping his tongue against her bottom lip. When she pulled back from him, he was sporting a slightly dazed expression. She'd seen it before, on the Doctor's face when she had kissed him as Cassandra at the hospital in New New York.

"Goodnight," she said, getting out of the car before Alec had a chance to say anything. She sprinted up the steps, her keys at the ready. Alec backed out of her driveway right as she opened the door and slipped inside. Once in the house, she collapsed against the door and slid slowly to the floor.

"He's not the Doctor," she told herself firmly. "He's not John."

Still, she didn't think she regretted doing it. It had been a nice kiss. Probably, most definitely a mistake...but at least a pleasant one at that. With a start, she remembered her phone in her purse. She pulled it out, punched in her access code, and listened to the voicemail from her mother.

"Rose Marion Tyler! You've been dodging my calls for two weeks now, and I'll not have it! You had better call me back or I'm coming down there!" Jackie Tyler's angry voice came booming out of the speaker. Rose winced, and held the phone away from her ear. She couldn't avoid her mother any longer. She was definitely not prepared for a visit from Hurricane Jackie. She dialed her mum's number and waited as it rang.

"Well it's about damn time," Jackie answered. "What the hell do you think you're pulling, avoiding me like that?"

"I haven't been avoiding you mum, I've just been busy," Rose said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Busy doing what? I thought you were supposed to be on holiday?"

"Well, I've decided I may want to stay in Broadchurch for a while. I found a job here, it's just part time in a shop, but it'll be something to keep me busy. I can't face London right now, mum. I need some space from the memories of John."

"What about Torchwood?" Jackie pressed.

"I don't know if I'm going to go back, honestly. Before he died, one of the last things John and I fought about was Torchwood. He didn't want me out in the field anymore, and I think he might've had a point. It may be time for me to...do something else for a while."

"Well I won't lie, I'm kind of relieved to hear that. I'd feel much better knowing you weren't risking your neck out there everyday," Jackie replied. "What took you so long to call me back, anyway? I called you almost two and a half hours ago."

"I was out to dinner," Rose answered.

"Like a date?" her mother asked, sounding surprised. "Don't you think it's a little..soon?"

"No, not like a date, mum. Just friends. I was out with a friend."

"Man or woman?" Jackie demanded.

"A man," Rose replied, purposefully not bothering to elaborate.

"What'd he look like?"

"Mum!" Rose huffed. "Honestly."

"It was just a question!"

"I don't know. Like a bloke," Rose replied, not bothering to mask her irritation.

"Well that's not very descriptive," Jackie said sourly. "Was he at least attractive?"

"Mum, just leave it."

"Alright, alright. Be that way. At least you finally called me back, suppose I can't complain. But how are you doing, Rose? Honestly?"

"I'm coping, mum. It's not easy, but every day is a little less difficult. I'll survive," Rose said, resisting the impulse to chew her freshly manicured nails.

"As long as you're happy," Jackie conceded. "Well, not happy. Oh, you know what I mean."

"As happy as I can be, under the circumstances," Rose replied. "Listen mum, I'm knackered. I'm going to ring off. I promise I'll try to be better about answering your calls."

"You'd better be, missy," Jackie chided. "Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight, mum. Tell Pete and Tony I love them."

"Of course. Love you too," Jackie replied, disconnecting the call.

Wearily, Rose peeled herself off of the floor and stumbled to the bedroom. She stripped out of her clothes, not bothering to put on pyjamas before she slipped under the covers. She tried to will herself to sleep, but all she could think about was kissing Alec Hardy, and how she wanted to do it again. Of course she wondered if she wasn't being disloyal to John for feeling that way. It seemed like Alec and her were magnetically attracted to each other, though-she hadn't been in town that long and they'd bumped into each other by chance several times already. And how did Alec feel about that kiss? He'd seemed surprised, but he hadn't protested. He knew though that he resembled her dead fiance, and she wondered just how comfortable he was with the idea. Could she even really be friends with him? Obviously, she was attracted to him, just as she'd been attracted to the Doctor and John. It couldn't be helped. She bit her lip, feeling a twinge of guilt. John hadn't even been dead a month, and here she'd already gone and snogged another man. What would he say if he were here? Well if he were here, she wouldn't be in Broadchurch, so that was probably a moot point. She sighed, shifting around in the bed in a failing effort to get more comfortable. Eventually, a restless sleep overtook her, and she did not dream.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie plopped down on the chair in front of Hardy's desk. "What's gotten into you? You've got that face on."

"What face is that then?" he asked.

"The brooding face. Something's bothering you," she said. Two years in and she knew him all too well.

"Close the door, Miller," he said, scrubbing at his face.

Concerned, Ellie got up and did as he asked. She sat back down and leaned forward. "What's going on?"

"I did something stupid last night," he said with a sigh, barely avoiding looking at her.

"Oh yeah?" she prompted.

"I...kissed Rose. Well, she kissed me. But I let her. I kissed her back. I don't know what the hell I was thinking," he said petulantly.

"Whoa, hold on. Did you just say you kissed Rose? What the hell were you thinking?" Ellie exclaimed.

"I don't know!" he shouted, frustrated. "I took advantage of her. It was stupid. I know I look like her fiance...she probably didn't even think it was me she was kissing. Thing was Ellie...it just felt right. Something about it felt right."

"Well now I know you've lost it. Alec, you can't. That girl needs a friend right now...not someone to confuse and complicate her emotions"

"Don't you think I know that? I feel horrible about it. Because I enjoyed it," he said with a grimace. "It's just been so long. It felt good to touch another person like that. God, I'm going to hell."

"Well, you did say she kissed you. Suppose you're not entirely to blame. What happened leading up to that? I mean, what were you guys talking about?" Ellie asked.

"Nothing. She thanked me, told me she had a nice time, I told her it was my pleasure, and then she grabbed me and snogged me. I was caught completely off guard," he replied.

"Well what're you going to do?" Ellie questioned.

"Suppose I need to call and apologize," he said with a frown. "Blimey, I don't even have her number. Miller, you've got her number, give it to me."

Ellie shook her head. "Sorry Charlie, no can do. If Rose wanted you to have her number, she would've given it to you."

"Oh, come on. You're kidding, right? We went out to eat together. She kissed me, I think we're a bit past all that now," Alec replied, irritated.

"Nope. Not gonna happen," Ellie said firmly.

"Fine. If you're not going to help me, get out. I've got stuff to do," he said, waving at the door.

"Whatever, Mister Grumpy Pants. I'll see you later," she said, getting up and leaving the office.

Alec flicked his eyes back to the computer screen. How much could he really look like Rose Tyler's dead fiance? Maybe it was time to do a little a research. He exited out of the report he'd been reading and pulled up Google. That was the simplest way, honestly. If those searches didn't turn up anything, he could access the police database, do a search that way. He tapped his finger against the desk, thinking. How to find it? He typed in "John Smith school shooting England" and hit enter. Dozens of results came back. He clicked on the first link, an article in the Telegraph titled "Tragedy Strikes King's College". The page loaded, and he was confronted by his own face at the top of the page, just one of many among pictures of the sixteen victims.

He felt his mouth go dry. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. John Smith didn't just look like him-he was iidentical/i to him. Same hair, same eyes, same face, hell, even the same glasses. It wasn't just weird, it was uncanny. Very briefly, he entertained the idea that his parents had lied to him, and he'd been a twin separated at birth. But that didn't make sense. Rose had told him it would've been John's 35th birthday on that Sunday, the 23rd of November. Alec was 38, and born on July 7th. So they couldn't be twins. But was it possible they were somehow related? That was the only explanation he could think of. His eyes scanned the article, reading the details. He had remembered hearing about the King's College shooting. It had stuck out of course because it was the first of its kind in many years. The last school shooting in England had been the Dunblane massacre of 1996. Apparently the killer, a 22 year old student named Kevin Clark had taken a rifle to the college on Halloween and open fired. He'd killed six professors and ten students before turning the gun on himself. No one knew why or where he'd even gotten the gun. Clark had been diagnosed with schizophrenia the previous term. The few who knew him said he'd seemed tortured.

He picked up the phone and dialed his father. He hadn't talked to his dad in ages, and felt a little bit bad about doing it only because he essentially wanted something. His father answered on the fifth ring.

"Hello?" Ewan Hardy said pleasantly.

"Hi, dad. It's me. Listen, I just had a question. Do you know if there's anyone in our family named John Smith?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?" his father replied, sounding puzzled.

"Ah, no reason. Just forget I mentioned it. So, how are you?" Alec asked.

"I'm good. Been gardening, bird watching. Your mum's been knitting, even though her arthritis is acting up. But we're good, we're good. And you son? How are you?"

"Oh I'm fine, fine," Alec lied. "Just been busy with work and all that. Actually, I need to get back. But I'll call you soon, okay?"

"That would be nice. I'm sure your mother would like to say hello. She's sleeping now."

"Alright, dad. Goodbye," Alec said, hanging up the phone. He sat back in his chair and puffed out a breath. He wasn't really busy, actually. In fact, it had been a particularly slow day. He thought he could probably afford to slip away, at least for no more than an hour. Certainly long enough to drive over to Rose's house and apologize. He grabbed his coat and slipped out of the office, still pondering the mystery of his double, John Smith.

Rose was lounging on the sofa, eating a pint of Chubby Hubby and watching Supernatural when the doorbell rang. She set the ice cream down, got up and answered the door. Alec Hardy was standing on the other side.

"Oh. Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied. He looked anxious. "Listen, about last night…"

"What about it?"

"The kiss. We shouldn't have done it. It was wrong. Your fiance just died, and I'm not him. I took advantage, and I'm sorry," he said earnestly.

"What are you sorry for? I'm the one who kissed you," Rose pointed out.

"Yeah, but I could've stopped you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You don't know me very well," she said with a sardonic smile. "You're right...we shouldn't have done it. But I'm not sorry it happened. I know you're not my fiance, Alec. But can't I just like you for you?"

Her answer took him by surprise. Several emotions flitted across his face before he was able to find his voice again. "Well, sure. I mean, I suppose. There's really no reason why you shouldn't, I guess."

He sounded so much like John then that it made her heart ache. "So what do we do now?"

"I think we should agree...no more kissing," he said uncomfortably. "Just friends."

"Right. No more kissing. Friends. Okay," Rose said, nodding.

"Alright then. I'd better get back. I guess I'll see you Thursday night at Ellie's?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course. See you there," she said, toying with her hair.

"Okay. Bye," he said, turning and walking down the steps. Rose stepped back inside and shut the door.

She knew Alec was right, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Surely, it was her fault, though. She had rushed things by kissing him. Still, he had taken the blame, saying he had taken advantage of her. That was a laugh. She had wanted to kiss him. Sighing, she put the rest of her ice cream back in the icebox and resumed watching Supernatural. Sam and Dean weren't enough to get her mind off of the detective, though. Eventually, she abandoned the sofa altogether in favor of taking a cold shower.

Monday morning at 9am, Rose was waiting outside the Seaside Soapery. Around 9:15, a harried looking woman approached the shop-it was the owner, Charlotte.

"Sorry I'm late, my car wouldn't start," she said, unlocking the door of the shop. A bell jingled above them as they walked in. "You can put your bag and your coat in the backroom here. I've got to get the till out of the safe."

Rose shrugged out of her her pea coat and hung it and her bag on a hook on the wall. She waited while Charlotte tinkered with the safe, cursing softly as she did. Finally, she pulled it open and retrieved her prize. "Come on then," she said, gesturing for Rose to follow her. "First thing's first, you have to hit open on the register. The drawer will pop open, and you can put the till inside. Then you need to set the float. The float is £200. That's it, and the register is good to go. It's pretty simple. Understand so far?"

"Yeah, I think I've got it. Open the register, enter the float," Rose repeated.

"You have to enter the price of each item manually when ringing a sale, we don't have a scanner. Every item, except soap and bath bombs has a sticker on it. Bath bombs are all £3. If someone wants soap, you cut it right off the loaf and weight it on the scale. The price is calculated according to weight. The scale will tell you how much it costs when you weight it. After you weigh it, you wrap it in a piece of paper and put one of our stickers on it. If someone spends £40 or more, they get a free bar of soap, no more than 113 grams. You don't ring the free soap in, you just mark it on the sheet by the register. So far, so good?"

"Yep, I got it," Rose said, nodding.

"Only managers can do returns and exchanges. So that's basically me and Tabitha, my keyholder. But as I'm almost always here, it shouldn't be a problem. Everything sold here is made on the premises, by me. Our signature soap is By the Seashore-it's a combination of lemongrass, lavender, and seaweed. Make sure you tell that to customers. There are aprons hanging up in the back. You can go ahead and put one on. That's the only uniform. Otherwise, you can wear whatever you like. Now, think you'll be okay here by yourself for half an hour? I need to go to the bank to get change."

"Um, yeah. Sure. I guess so," Rose said. The prospect had her nervous. The last time she had worked in a shop was almost ten years ago and it had been in the clothing department. This was something entirely new. Still..it seemed simple. How hard could it really be?

"Alright, I'll try not to be long. Good luck," Charlotte said, walking out the door.

Rose drifted around the shop, picking up bottles of lotion and shower gel, giving each of them a good sniff. Her sense of smell had heightened considerably since she'd gotten pregnant, and some of the things she sniffed were so strong they made her eyes water. Still, most of it smelled nice. She had a feeling she would be spending a lot of money here. It reminded her of Lush, something they didn't have in this universe. It wasn't quite as spendy though, which was a good thing for her wallet. She had a weak spot for things that smelled good.

She picked up a small block of soap, and gave it a sniff. Vanilla and jasmine. She thought Ellie might like that. She'd have to buy her a bar and bring it over the next time they had dinner together. Only one person came in while Charlotte was gone, and they browsed and left within five minutes. She hoped it wasn't always going to be this boring. She supposed it had to be slow this time of year, being almost winter in a seaside town. Charlotte came back, and continued educating Rose on the various and sundry products they sold. Before she knew it, it was three o'clock and her shift was up. Her legs were aching as she walked back out to her car. She was going to need a better pair of shoes if she was going to be on her feet all day. Already being in town, she decided to walk down the street. She'd remembered seeing a shoe shop near the cafe where she'd had dinner with Alec. She veered away from her car and back onto the pavement. The shoe shop was only a couple blocks away, and for once it wasn't raining, although it was still pretty cold. She kept her hands in the pockets of her coat, only taking them out when she had reached her destination to open the door.

"Hello!" a man greeted her cheerily from behind the register. "Can I help you find something today?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for a good pair of work shoes. I just got a retail job and I'll be on my feet a lot, so I need something supportive and comfortable."

"Well I'd be happy to help you with that. What's your shoe size?" the clerk asked.

"I'm a six," Rose answered, taking a seat on one of the benches in the middle of the floor and kicking off her shoes.

"Hold on just a tic, I'll see what I can find," the clerk said, going to the women's section. "Any particular color?"

"Black would probably be best, but anything will do, really," Rose answered, resisting the urge to bite her nails.

The clerk returned with several boxes in his arms. He set them down on the bench beside Rose, and opened the one on the top. "Let's try these," he said, handing her one of the shoes. She slipped it on her foot and wiggled her toes before accepting the other shoe. "So, what do you think? Go ahead, try walking in them."

Rose got up and made a brief circle around the store. "These feel pretty good. I'm take 'em."

"Oh, alright. You didn't want to see anything else?"

"Nah," Rose replied, sitting back down on the bench. "These will do fine. Can I wear them out?"

"Of course," the clerk replied, putting her other shoes in the box. Rose met him up at the register to pay. The clerk peered at her credit card when she handed it to him. "Rose Tyler. That sounds so familiar. Are you related to Peter Tyler, the Vitex guy?"

"He's my step-dad," Rose answered, shifting uncomfortably. This was the first time someone in Broadchurch had recognized her.

"Oh, I love Vitex. The fruit punch flavor is my favorite," the clerk said, handing her back her credit card. "So what brings you to Broadchurch?"

"I'm living here, for now. Just wanted to get away from London for a while," Rose replied.

"Oh my God. Rose Tyler. Your fiance was one of the professors killed at the King's College shooting on Halloween, wasn't he? James Smith?"

"John Smith," Rose corrected him, becoming increasingly more uncomfortable. "And yeah, he was."

"That's just so sad," the clerk said, clucking his tongue sympathetically. He handed her the receipt to sign, and she scribbled her name quickly, eager to escape the shop and the clerk's pity.

"Alright. Well, thanks," she said lamely, picking up the box with her old shoes in it.

"Any time," the clerk replied with a smile, oblivious to how much his questions had upset Rose.

She slipped out of the shop and practically dashed back to her car. She threw the shoe box unceremoniously onto the passenger side seat, buckled herself in, and drove away. The radio drowned out the sound of her crying. It had been a month already since John's death, and talking about it wasn't any easier now than it had been back when it had first happened. She cursed the nosy store clerk for bringing it up, but it wasn't his fault, not really. She supposed he'd probably been trying to be friendly and solicitous, in some absurd away. Her fluctuating hormones probably didn't help anything, either. With great relief, she pulled into her driveway and turned off the car, resting her head against the steering wheel. Had it really already been a month? It didn't seem possible that John had been gone that long. She didn't realize just how long she'd been sitting there until a knock came on her window. She jerked her head up and looked. Ellie.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You've been sitting there for a while."

Rose rolled down her window. "Yeah, I'm fine. Was just thinking. Got caught up."

"You look like you've been crying. Are you sure you're alright?" Ellie pressed, the concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah, it's just stupid. I went to buy a pair of shoes, and when I went to pay the clerk recognized me from my name on the credit card. Then he started asking me about John. It just upset me, that's all. It's been just over a month now since he was killed, and it hasn't gotten any easier talking about him," Rose sighed.

"A month isn't that long. God, I was still crying over what Joe did six months later. Everything in its own time. You can't rush grief."

"Suppose you're right," Rose said, grabbing the shoe box and swinging the car door open.

"So how was your first day at work?" Ellie asked, following Rose up onto the porch.

"It was fine. A little bit boring, not too many customers. But I got a schooling on all the different types of essential oils and their therapeutic properties, so there's that, I guess," Rose answered, unlocking the door. "You coming in?"

"Nah, I've got to get back over. The boys are alone. I just wanted to check and see that you were alright. You're still coming over for dinner on Thursday, yeah?" Ellie asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Did you want me to bring anything?" Rose replied.

"Just yourself," Ellie answered with a smile.

"Alright then. I'll see you on Thursday," Rose said.

"See you then," Ellie replied, walking back down the steps.

Rose shut the door with a sigh. She was more exhausted from that six hour shift at the Soapery than she'd been after days long missions for Torchwood. She took off her shoes, hung up her coat and purse, and collapsed bonelessly onto the sofa to watch some telly. Hopefully, it would take her mind off of John.


	8. Chapter 8

The month of December breezed by in what felt like a blink. Rose spent four days a week at the Soapery, grateful for the distraction it provided. Some days, Charlotte even let her open the shop herself She'd already started amassing a hoard of scented bath and body products, and taking long soaks while she read The Mystery of Edwin Drood and other books Alec had loaned her became a hobby. She still took dinner with Ellie and the DI every Thursday, without fail. Though things between her and Alec felt relatively comfortable, he hadn't yet asked her out again, except to have coffee when he was on break from work. She had her second doctor's appointment, and another sonogram joined the first one on the fridge, this one looking slightly more baby shaped than the first. She hadn't started showing quite yet, though she did notice her clothing was getting a little bit tighter. That year, Christmas fell on a Thursday and Rose planned to go home to London the Wednesday before, knowing there was no way she could avoid her family for the duration of the holiday. So that week on the Tuesday before Christmas, Ellie threw a small get together at her house, inviting only Rose, Alec, and a handful of her other co-workers.

Rose stood on Ellie's porch, holding a bunch of wrapped presents. She'd gotten Fred some tinker toys, Tom a book on space exploration, Ellie a small basket with assorted soaps and bath bombs, and Alec a shaving kit. She rang the bell, shifting from one foot to the other as she waited. Ellie swung the door open and invited her inside.

"Happy Christmas," Rose said, passing the bundle of gifts onto Ellie.

"Happy Christmas," Ellie replied with a smile. "You didn't have to bring gifts."

"Nonsense, of course I had to," she responded, shrugging out of her coat.

"Well mostly everyone is in the living room or the kitchen. I'll introduce you," Ellie said, leading the way. "Everyone, this is Rose. She lives across the street."

"SOCO Brian Mallard," one man said, extending his hand to Rose. "Nice Christmas jumper."

"Oh, thanks," she replied, tugging on the bottom of the garment. It was blue with silver snowflakes embroidered throughout, a gift from one of Pete's aunts a few years ago.

"Punch?" the man offered, holding up the ladle from the bowl.

"Is it spiked?" she asked.

"Well of course it is, this is a Christmas party," he replied with a chuckle.

"I'll pass then, thanks," she said, taking a look around the room. Alec apparently hadn't arrived yet, making Ellie the only person she knew there. She made introductions with a few other people before retreating to the living room and perching on the sofa. On the television, It's A Wonderful Life was playing. She had never understood what compelled people to watch such a depressing movie around the holidays, but it nonetheless was a tradition in this universe, same as it had been in her own world. Alec came into the room right as the credits started rolling.

"Hey," he said, immediately coming over to her. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas yourself," she replied, her tongue poking its way through her teeth. "I got you something."

"Oh? Well as it turns out, I have something for you, too," he said, handing her a small package wrapped in festive green and red paper. She accepted the gift from him before getting up to retrieve his present from underneath the tree where Ellie had placed it. Both of them began peeling the paper off their presents at the same time.

"Oh, it's a shaving kit, all natural. Is this from the shop where you work?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I know it's not very original, but I hope you like it. It's got shave soap, shaving cream, and aftershave in it. Smells really good, I hope you enjoy it."

"It's lovely, thank you," he said, a smile spreading across his face.

Rose finished peeling the paper off of her gift, and was not at all surprised to see that it was a book. C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Thank you."

"I hope it's alright," he babbled rubbing at the back of his neck as he always seemed to do when he was nervous. "It's a really excellent read. I thought it might be useful for you."

Rose mustered a smile. "That's very thoughtful of you. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Alec replied, relaxing slightly. "So, how's the party?"

"Oh, I've only been here a little while. It's kind of awkward, given I don't know anyone. A few people introduced themselves, but I still feel very much like an outsider," she answered.

"Yeah...that's Broadchurch for you. Try not to let it get to you, it takes these guys a while to warm up to newcomers," he said. Behind him, Ellie cleared her throat. "Yeah, Miller?"

Ellie pointed to the archway under which Rose and Alec were standing. Dangling there was a sprig of mistletoe. Rose and Alec exchanged nervous glances before looking back at Ellie. The other people in the room were also staring at them, apparently waiting to see what would happen next.

Alec cleared his throat, and inclined his head down towards Rose. She tilted her own head up to meet him. Their lips met briefly in a not entirely chaste kiss before they hastily pulled back from each other, blushing. People resumed talking, evidently satisfied by this turn of events.

"Great. I'm sure they'll all be talking about that for the next couple of weeks," Alec grumbled.

"I don't see why they would. It's a Christmas tradition, mistletoe. This is a Christmas party," Rose replied.

"Doesn't matter. It's a small town and I've got a reputation. I'm sure people will speculate," Alec replied.

"Well let them speculate. Who gives a fig?" Rose said. "And anyway, what reputation would that be, exactly?"

Alec pursed his lips. "My nickname around the precinct is DI Alec Hardass."

Rose didn't bother trying to contain her laughter. "That's...interesting. Still, it's hardly true."

"Maybe, maybe not. I suppose I just didn't make a very good first impression on some people," Alec replied.

"Well Ellie and I like you well enough. Who cares what anyone else thinks, so long as you've got your friends," she said.

"I suppose. I'm going to go get some punch. You want any?" he asked.

"Nah, it's alcoholic. I don't drink," she replied.

"Can I be nosy and ask why not?" Alec questioned.

Rose's stomach did a couple of flips. "I just don't like the taste, that's all. I don't like my beverages to burn on the way down. Or coming back up, for that matter"

"Fair enough," he said. "I'll be right back."

Rose was still holding the book Alec had given her. She slid it into her purse and sat back down on the couch, next to a tall guy with short, black hair. "Hello, there. I work with Ellie and Alec. You're Rose, right?" the guy asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I don't believe we've met before."

"I'm John," he replied, extending his hand to her. After a moment's hesitation, she accepted his hand and shook it limply.

"John was my fiance's name," she replied, wrapping a lock of her hair around her fingers.

"Was? Did you break up?" he asked, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

"No. He died. Just under two months ago," Rose said shortly.

"Oh, damn. I'm sorry to hear that," John replied, inching closer to her. Rose shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to get too close. "Are you seeing anyone now?"

Rose stared back at him, incredulous. "Don't be daft. He's barely cold in the ground yet. What do you take me for, some sort of slapper?"

"No, no, of course not," he said, holding up his hands. "I just noticed you and the DI seemed pretty cozy there a minute ago."

"We're just friends," she said tersely. "Not that it's any of your business."

Alec chose that moment to reappear. She shot him a "help me" look from the couch. He immediately strode over and cleared his throat. "So John. I see you've met Rose."

"I have indeed. We were just getting to know each other," he said, again attempting again to sidle closer to Rose.

A murderous look flashed across Alec's face, and he grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her up from the couch. "Sorry to interrupt you, but Ellie was saying she could use some help in the kitchen."

"Sorry," Rose said, not at all apologetically. She let Alec tug her out of the living room and into the hallway. "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Don't mention it. Was he hitting on you?" Alec asked, not bothering to mince words.

"He was trying to," Rose said. "Luckily, my knight in shining armor showed up before he could start getting handsy, too."

Alec flushed at that, and began pulling at his collar. "John will go after anything with two legs and a pulse. He's like asphalt-laid all over town."

"Yeah? Well unfortunately for him, I'm not remotely interested. He's not at all my type," Rose said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"So what is your type?" Alec asked, his finger stroking the inside of her wrist.

"You," she replied honestly.

He dropped her hand, and stared back at her. "Me?"

"Don't look so shocked. I told you before I thought you were handsome," she said.

"Yeah, but I thought you were just being polite," he answered, again rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Not at all. I'm not into lip service, Alec. If I say something, it's generally because I mean it," she told him, retrieving her coat. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go. I have to drive back to London tomorrow, and I haven't even wrapped my family's presents yet."

Alec couldn't hide his disappointment. "Oh. Well, can I walk you home?"

"Sure. Just let me say goodbye to Ellie," she said, going into the kitchen to locate the other woman. "Hey, thank you for having me, but I think I'm going to head home. I've got stuff to do before I leave to go back to London tomorrow."

"Aww, already? Well, that's alright. Happy Christmas, and you have a nice time with your family. Drive careful. I'll see you for dinner next Thursday?" Ellie asked.

"I never turn down a meal I don't have to cook myself," Rose answered with a laugh.

"Alright then. See you next year," Ellie said, giving her a hug.

Rose went back out into the hall where Alec was still standing, waiting. He offered her his arm, and she took it, letting him lead them out of Ellie's house and across the street to her cottage. On the porch, they stood looking at each other awkwardly, neither one of them quite sure what to say. Alec was the one to finally break the silence.

"So, how long will you be gone?" he questioned, pulling on his ear.

"Just a week. I leave tomorrow morning, I'll probably drive back the afternoon of the 31st," she answered.

"So...no plans for New Year's?" he asked hopefully.

"None, yet. You?"

"I was probably going to stay in, order takeout, and watch old movies. Miller is taking the kids to her parents in Bristol for Christmas, and she won't be back until New Year's Day, but you could join me...if you'd like," he said nervously.

"That sounds great. I'd love to," Rose answered, giving him a reassuring smile.

He grinned back at her. "Great. So it's a date?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you sure you want to call it that?"

"Well, you know what I mean," he said, blushing.

Her tongue poked its way through her teeth. "Yeah, I do. I'm just pulling your leg. New Year's Eve. It's a date," she said, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. His own arms wound around her waist, pulling her in closer. She tilted her head up to look at him, and before she knew it, his mouth was pressed fiercely against her own. She nibbled gently on his bottom lip, causing him to elicit a low groan in the back of his throat and tighten his grip on her. His tongue swiped along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to him, deepening the kiss into a right proper snog.

"We'd better stop now," he panted. "If we keep doing this, I'm going to want to do a whole lot more than kiss you."

"Down, boy. So much for just friends," she said wryly, stepping back from him. He had the good graces to look slightly ashamed.

"Yeah, well...about that. I...oh, bollocks. Rose, I like you. I like you a lot. And I guess I didn't realize how much I liked you until I saw that wanker John hitting on you tonight. I could've killed the bugger," he admitted.

"I couldn't tell, based on the death stare you gave him," she said with a laugh. "It was quite cute, though...you going all possessive."

"Rose, your fiance…" Alec said, his voice trailing off.

"He's gone, and you're not him. And I know that. Alec, I like you for you. I like spending time with you, being around you. When I'm with you, things don't hurt as much. You're kind and generous and funny, and that's all you. You're a completely different man from John, and that's one of the reasons I like you," she told him.

"Are you sure I'm not just a stand in for him? Because I don't want to be. I want you...but not if all you see is him when you look at me," Alec said earnestly.

"You're not a stand in," she said, raising up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head at the last moment and she ended up kissing him on the lips instead. "Anyway, you'd better go...I think we have an audience."

Alec turned to look, and saw several people standing out on Ellie's porch, smoking cigarettes. "Bollocks," he said. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."

"The world doesn't end because Alec Hardy kissed a girl. Don't worry about what they think. Anyway, I'll see you on New Year's Eve, yeah?"

He turned back to look at her, and his eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Yeah."

"Goodnight, Alec," she said, slipping into the cottage and shutting the door behind her.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose was anxious. She'd been home at the Tyler mansion for days, and had yet to tell her family she was pregnant. She knew she couldn't hold off on telling them for much longer, not unless she wanted to incite a war when they'd inevitably find out later. And she was sure Jake would be relieved not to have to keep her secret anymore. She gathered her wits and went downstairs to the kitchen to talk to her parents.

When she entered the kitchen, Pete and Jackie were sitting at the table with Tony, having breakfast. Rose hovered in the doorway, dreading the thing she was about to do. Pete looked over and noticed her standing there.

"Were you going to join us?" he asked, gesturing to an empty chair at the table.

"Yeah, sure," she said, going to the table and taking a seat next to Tony. She was purposefully putting some distance between herself and Jackie. She had a feeling her mother wouldn't be happy that she'd been keeping her pregnancy a secret for over a month. Wordlessly, she accepted a plate with waffles and bacon from her mother.

"Sweetheart, are you alright? You look like you're a thousand miles away right now," Jackie said, not unkindly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...I have something to tell you guys," she said, fidgeting.

"Oh?" Pete said, laying down his fork. "What is it?"

Rose pulled her ring on and off her finger and stared at the table to avoid looking at her parents. "I'm pregnant."

The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. "What did you say?" Jackie asked softly.

Rose looked up, bit her lip, and repeated herself. "I'm pregnant. About twelve weeks now. I was waiting to tell you guys until I was past the danger zone for miscarriage. I only found out a little while ago," she said, not bothering to elaborate just how long she had known.

"Oh God, Rose," said Jackie, bursting into tears. This was exactly the sort of reaction she'd been hoping to avoid. She should've known better-this was her mum, after all.

"Mum, please don't cry. If you cry, I'm going to cry," Rose said, her voice wavering.

"What's going on?" Tony asked with the innocence that only a child has, looking up from his food to glance across the table at his mother.

"Your sister is going to have a baby. That means you'll be an uncle," Pete told the little boy.

"Oh. Okay," Tony said, completely unbothered. He returned to making faces on his waffles with his bacon.

"So you're coming home then, yeah? Surely you're not going to stay in Broadchurch?" Jackie asked, trying to regain her composure.

"Yeah, about that...I'm thinking about selling my flat in London. I like it in Broadchurch. I like being near the beach. It's nice and peaceful, not too crowded. I like my job there, and I've been making friends. I need the change. It's not as though I can go back to Torchwood, not now," she said.

"We would find something for you to do," Pete said. "It might not be exciting, but there's always paperwork and filing to be done."

"I don't want to go back to Torchwood. I don't want to come back to London. I like Broadchurch, and I'm going to stay there," she said firmly.

"Don't be stupid. You're pregnant. You should be home, where you have your family and your friends to support you, not halfway across the country! With John gone, you're going to need it," Jackie said flatly.

"I have friends in Broadchurch, mum. And it's not halfway across the country, it's barely three hours away. Besides, my OB is in Broadchurch, and I like her. I'm sorry, but my mind is made up about this," Rose said

Rose could tell by the look on her mother's face that she was winding up for an argument. Pete must have seen it too, because he laid his hand over his wife's and looked at her. "Jacks, this is Rose's life. She has a right to make her own decisions, and you need to respect that."

"Thanks, Pete," Rose said, letting out a relieved sigh.

"You can't be serious!" Jackie said angrily, rounding on her husband. "This is crazy! She belongs here!"

"Mum, it's bad enough that John won't be here to help me raise this baby. I don't need to be in London, reminded of the fact that he's gone everyday. How do you expect me to cope when I would have to drive past the college anytime I want to go to Tesco's?" Rose asked, trying to mask her frustration at the direction the conversation had taken.

"You would have us to help you, that's how!" Jackie shouted.

"Mum, it's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment...but that's not what I want. Don't you even care how I feel about this? I'm the one who's pregnant with a dead man's child, not you," Rose pointed out.

"And you're sure about this?" Jackie asked.

"100% positive. I didn't just make this decision on the fly, I've been thinking about it for a while now," Rose replied. "If you want to help me, you could do it by packing up the flat and putting everything into storage. I don't have it in me to go through John's stuff right now."

"We'll take care of it," Pete assured her.

"I swear, you two are like a united front against me. When did that happen?" Jackie grumbled.

All in all, Rose supposed it could have gone much worse.

The drive back to Broadchurch wasn't nearly as bad as she'd been anticipating. The roads were fairly clear of traffic, surprisingly, although if the weather reports on the radio were to be believed, she was trying to out pace a winter storm. The clouds hanging in the sky were dark and full with the promise of snow. Luckily, she didn't have too much farther to go. She inserted her Bluetooth and called Alec.

"Rose!" he said, the pleasure evident in his voice. "How are you? Are we still on for tonight?"

"Absolutely. I'm on my way back from London now-I'm about half an hour away from Broadchurch. I should be in town by eight o'clock. I was going to go straight to your place, if that was alright with you."

"Oh," he said, sounding surprised. "Yeah, that's fine, if that's what you want to do. You sure you don't need to stop home first?"

"Nah, there's nothing I need to do there. But I do need to see you. After almost a week with my family, I'm about ready to be sectioned," she said with a laugh.

He chuckled. "That bad, huh? Alright, well, I'll be waiting for you. Drive safe."

"I will. I'll see you soon," she said.

"Later, beautiful," Alec said, ringing off. Rose flushed with heat. He'd called her beautiful. A memory hit her then, strong and powerful, of her standing in the TARDIS decked out in Victorian garb.

iBlimey!

"Don't laugh."

You look beautiful, considering.

"Considering what?"

That you're human./i

Rose's grip on the steering wheel tightened. Why was she thinking of that now? John had called her beautiful all the time, and she'd never had a reaction like that. Something about Alec's lilting Scottish voice reminded her of her first Doctor, the one with blue eyes and leather and a Northern accent.

i"If you are an alien, how comes you sound like you're from the North?"

Lots of planets have a North!/i

She almost had to smile, remembering that moment. That had been the second time she'd met him. She sighed. That man was dead now too, technically. He had died, and been reborn as her pinstriped and plimsolled Doctor. She remembered how shocked and frightened she'd been when he'd regenerated. In fact, she had refused to believe that he was the Doctor at first, convinced he was a Slitheen or something else horrible.

i"Oh my God, are you Slitheen?"

I'm not a Slitheen.

"Send him back. I'm warning you, send the Doctor back right now!"

Rose, it's me. It's honestly, it's me. I was dying. To save my own life, I changed my body. Every single cell, but still me.

"You can't be…"

Then how could I remember this? The very first word I ever said to you, trapped in that cellar, surrounded by shop window dummies, ooo, such a long time ago. I took your hand, I said one word, just one word. I said: run!

"Doctor?"

Hello!/i

How she had ever doubted him, she'd never understand. But she had come to love that Doctor, just as she had loved her big eared Northerner, even more so. The new Doctor had felt like he was made for her. His hand fit so perfectly in her own. It was like the universe had tailor made him for her. And God, how she missed him. Him and John. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them back, keeping her focus on the road. She was almost to Broadchurch. And Alec was waiting.

Alec was standing outside on the porch when Rose pulled up. The first flurries of snow were just beginning to fall. He waved at her as she got out of the car. She smiled and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms.

"God, I missed you," she said into his neck.

"I missed you, too," he said, resting his chin on her head.

"Let's go inside. It's freezing out here," she said, shivering slightly. "And I need the loo."

He opened the door and gestured for her to come inside. She ducked into the house, eager to be out of the cold. She took off her coat and he took it and hung it in the closet. He directed her down the hall to the bathroom. She relieved herself and washed her hands at the sink before popping back into the hallway.

"It's not much," he said, leading her into the living room. "But it's mine."

She was pleased to see that he already had a roaring fire going in the fireplace. The room itself was a little sparse, but looked comfortably lived in. A shabby blue couch sat in the middle of the room, the only seating there was. Two small end tables were placed on either side of the couch. Above the fireplace there was mounted a small flat screen television, which surprised her a little because he'd said he wasn't much for telly before. On the opposite wall, two bookshelves flanked a window, the only other furniture in the room.

He saw her eying the flat screen. "That's new, actually. Boxing Day sale. It occurred to me we wouldn't be able to watch movies if I didn't have a television," he said wryly. "I mean, I have a laptop, but that would be pretty awkward."

"Oh Alec, you didn't have to do that on my account," she replied uncomfortably.

"Hey, I promised you takeout and movies. I had to deliver on that," he said lightly. "Speaking of takeout, we should probably order now before the snow gets any worse. The news was saying we might get anywhere between fifteen and twenty-five centimeters."

"Yeah, okay. What were you feeling?" she asked.

"Curry? There's one decent curry house in Broadchurch, and they thankfully do delivery. I've got menus in the kitchen."

"Yeah, alright. Sounds good," she said with a smile.

"Go ahead and get comfortable. I'll bring the menus out here," Alec told her, disappearing through a doorway into what she assumed was the kitchen. She took off her shoes and sat down on the couch, enjoying the warmth from the fire. She took out her mobile and shot a quick text to her mum to let her know she'd gotten home safe. Alec returned a minute later with a sheaf of menus in his hand. He sat down next to her on the couch, and passed her one of the menus. They browsed in quiet for a few minutes, until Alec broke the silence by declaring he was going to get the Panak Paneer. Rose settled on the Rogan Josh. She hadn't had lamb in a while. Alec called the order in, then settled back against the couch, draping one arm over her shoulder.

"I've got Netflix on this thing. Don't really want to talk about how long that took me to figure out, but I managed it. What do you feel like watching?"

"Have you ever seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?" she asked.

His brow furrowed. "I don't believe I have. Who's in that one?"

"Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. It's one of my favorite movies. I won't spoil the plot for you, but it's a really excellent film. It's a very unique love story, and it's not at all mushy."

"Alright, I trust your taste," he said, entering the title into the search bar. It popped up immediately, and he selected play. "I'm really hoping this isn't a chick flick."

"No, it's much more existential than that," she replied.

He looked sort of surprised at her response. "Okay. Well, I'll try anything once," he said.

They snuggled together against the couch, which was just big enough to comfortably seat the two of them. After a few minutes, Rose looked over to gauge Alec's reaction. He was completely absorbed in the plot. She smiled, and leaned her head against his shoulder. They were about halfway through the movie when the doorbell rang. Alec paused the film and excused himself to answer the door. She could hear him talking to the delivery driver, though she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. He returned a few moments later, carrying a plastic bag.

"Do you mind if we eat out here? I'm really into this, I don't want to stop watching," he said, sitting back down on the couch.

She smiled, accepting a container of food from him. "Of course. I'm glad you're enjoying the film."

"Oh you were right, it's really interesting. A bit sad, though," he said.

"Sad is happy for deep people," she replied.

"Quite right, too," he said, opening up his own takeout container.. Rose stifled herself from reacting to his choice of words. Just was a strange coincidence, that was all. They ate in silence, both engrossed in the story unfolding on the screen. Alec laughed when Kate Winslet flashed her knickers to Jim Carrey underneath the table. He gathered up their empty food containers and set them on the floor beside the couch before draping his arm back over Rose's shoulder. They watched the rest of the movie quietly, nestled comfortably against each other.

After it ended, Alec turned to her on the couch. "I can't believe I haven't seen that before. That was great. You're right, it was a very unique love story. But I don't know...it makes you feel kind of hopeful. Like if those two can manage to find their way back to each other even after having their memories erased, then surely there's hope for the rest of us, y'know?"

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "That's one of the reasons why I like it so much. It's not your typical soppy romance. I don't go for those."

"Yeah, I wouldn't expect you would," Alec said, running his fingers through her hair. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Well it's still early, two hours til midnight, we could watch another movie. But this time, you pick," she insisted.

"Hmm. Okay, give me a minute," he said, flicking through the available titles. He hemmed and hawed for a few minutes, before finally settling on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He settled back against the couch and pulled her to him. "You're going to love this. It's a comedy, an Australian one."

"What's it about?" she asked him.

"Drag queens."

"Drag queens. Really?" she said in disbelief.

He nodded and smiled. "Drag queens and Abba."

Rose was somewhat dubious. Not because she had a problem with cross-dressers, but because she was surprised Alec even knew of such a movie. She never would've pegged him for the type. About thirty minutes in, she had a lightbulb moment and asked, "Isn't that the guy from the Matrix?"

"Sure is," he said with a grin.

"Wow. Now I've seen everything," she said, shifting to get more comfortable. "Speaking of drag queens, did you know that Ursula from The Little Mermaid was based off of Divine? You know, the draq queen from Polyester and Hairspray?"

"Actually, I did know that. My daughter's favorite Disney movie when she was a kid was The Little Mermaid," he replied. "Gods, I haven't seen Hairspray in forever. Although Ellie and I watched Pink Flamingos a while ago, one night when her kids were with her parents. She said she wanted to watch something outrageous to get her mind off things, and that movie definitely qualifies as outrageous. I think she got a bit more than she bargained for, though. It's not every day you literally see a person eat shit."

"I'd never take you for a John Waters fan," she said.

"I wasn't always. One of my best mates at the police academy was gay, and he absolutely loved John Waters. Convinced me to watch some of his films. He died of complications from AIDS about five years ago," Alec told her.

"I'm so sorry," she said, gently squeezing his hand.

"Death is part of life," he replied. "Anyway, enough about that. The movie's about to get even more hilarious."

Alec was right, the movie was funny. At points the two of them were laughing so hard, tears trickled from the corners of their eyes. She just about died when Bernadette told the woman in the bar to light the fuse on her tampon, because that was the only bang she would ever get. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed like this. Certainly it had been before John died. When the movie ended, Alec switched back into TV mode so they could watch the New Year's Eve festivities in London. It was twenty minutes til midnight. Alec got up and went to look out the window.

"Um, Rose? I don't think you'll be going home tonight," he said over his shoulder.

"Why, what's wrong?" she said, getting up to join him by the window. He pulled back the curtains so she could look. "Ah. I see."

Rose's car was just a vague white hump parked on the street in front of Alec's house. His front yard and the road were completely covered with a thick blanket of snow, and it was still coming down hard. Driving in that would be like begging to have an accident.

"I guess you're stuck with me," he said, not sounding remotely disappointed.

"What a shame," she said, her tongue poking its way between her teeth.

"Oh yeah! That reminds me. I know you don't drink alcohol, so I picked up some sparkling grape juice to toast to the New Year with. Would you like some?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," she said, walking back over to the couch and sitting down. Alec disappeared back into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later carrying two wine glasses half-full of sparkling white liquid. He passed one to Rose, who sniffed it before taking a sip. It looked like champagne, but it was definitely grape juice. She set the glass down on the end table and settled back against the couch. When there was only ten seconds left on the clock, they clinked their glasses together and each took a sip before setting them down again. The clock on the mantel chimed midnight, and on the television, people began to cheer over the sound of Auld Lang Syne.

Alec turned to look at Rose. "Happy New Year," he said, smiling softly.

"Happy New Year," she repeated, leaning in to press her mouth against his. His lips parted and their tongues tangled briefly together. He tasted vaguely of the sweet white grape juice, and a hint of spice from his curry. His arms wound around her waist, crushing her tightly against him, but she didn't care. A current of electricity ran through her body. She buried her hands in his hair and tugged gently, causing him to growl against her lips. It was with great reluctance that Alec finally pulled away.

"As much as I'd liked to continue this, I do have work tomorrow. I should probably be getting to bed. I'll sleep on the couch, you can take my bedroom," he said, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're way too tall to sleep comfortably on this tiny little couch. We can share the bed. I promise I don't bite," she replied.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. We probably shouldn't be moving so fast…" he said, rubbing his neck.

Rose rolled her eyes good naturedly at him. "I can keep my hands to myself if you can, Alec."

"Well, I do have a queen sized bed. Suppose it would be alright," he said, stroking his chin.

"Good. I don't suppose you have something I could borrow to sleep in? My stuff is out in the car," she said, suddenly feeling shy.

"Yeah, sure. Let me put out the fire and I'll meet you in the bedroom. It's the door right by the front door," he said, waving vaguely in that direction. Rose got up and padded out into the hallway. The bedroom door was cracked. She pushed it open and stepped inside. It was a small room, with just a bed, two nightstands, and a wingback chair.. He didn't even have a dresser, though there seemed to be two closets. She sat down on the bed and waited for him to join her. A couple minutes later he came into the bedroom. He went straight to the closet on the right side, and began digging around. He tossed her a pair of plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a plain white tshirt.

"I'll just wait outside while you get changed," he said, sweeping back out of the bedroom, closing the door to give her privacy.

She slipped her trousers down over her hips and onto the floor before pulling her jumper over her head. Carefully, she unhooked her bra and wrapped the jumper around it. She set her clothes in a neat pile on the floor, put on the pyjamas, and slipped under the blue and white striped comforter on the bed. "You can come in," she called to him. The door opened, and he slipped back inside.

"Uh, I forgot, I have to change. I'll be right back," he said, blushing like a school boy. He picked up his pyjamas from the chair and disappeared back into the hallway. When he reappeared, he was also wearing plaid flannel pyjama bottoms and a heather grey tshirt. He climbed into the bed beside her and turned off the lamp on the nightstand.

"Goodnight," he whispered through the dark. She felt him press a gentle kiss to her forehead, and smiled.

"Goodnight," she said, snuggling under the covers. For the first time in a while, she actually felt content.


	10. Chapter 10

pWhen Rose woke up, Alec was spooned against her, his arm draped over her waist. And...he was poking her in the back. Despite knowing it was likely an involuntary bodily response, she flushed with heat. Gently, she disentangled herself from him, careful to try not and wake him. He mumbled something under his breath and turned onto his back, though he stayed sleeping. She crept over to the window and pulled the curtains open to peer outside. The snow had stopped, though the road still looked pretty terrible. She padded out into the hallway and went to investigate the kitchen./p

pThe room was small, but painted a cheerful shade of pale yellow. The clock on the stove read 7:30. Mismatched chairs sat in a circle around the kitchen table. The appliances all looked pretty retro, but the one she was looking for looked new enough and was sitting on top of the stove. She grabbed the kettle and filled it with water from the tap before setting it back on the burner to boil. She scoured his cabinets and found the tea and sugar. Now to see if he had anything she could make breakfast with. The contents of the fridge were meager. Well, at least he had eggs. She pulled them, a tomato, some asparagus and butter out and set them on the counter. As quiet as possible, she searched the kitchen for a frying pan, finally finding one in the drawer beneath the oven. She began heating butter in the pan before turning back to the counter. She rinsed the vegetables and then began dicing them into small pieces. Adding them to the pan to saute, she found a small bowl in one of the cabinets and began briskly beating the eggs with a fork. When the veggies had finished sauteing, she dumped them onto the plate before pouring in the eggs. They hit the hot pan with a sizzle. She found a loaf of bread on top of the fridge, and began making toast. Ten minutes later, she cut the omelette into two and arranged one half each on two plates. She buttered the toast, poured the tea, arranged everything on a tray, and carried it back to the bedroom. Alec was sprawled out on his stomach, his face half buried in his pillow, snoring softly. She almost hated to wake him. He looked so peaceful./p

p"Good morning," she said quietly, balancing the tray on one hand and using the other to gently shake his shoulder./p

p"Hmm, what?" he muttered, lifting his head. "Oh, you're still here. I thought for sure you would've run out on me by now."/p

p"Now why would I do a thing like that after such a lovely evening?" she said, clucking her tongue. "And anyway, it doesn't look like they plowed the roads yet. If they did, they did a horrible job. Seems like you're still stuck with me."/p

pHe smiled and picked up his glasses from the nightstand before putting them. "Yeah, but stuck with you, that's not so bad," he said./p

p"No?" she asked, coming to sit on the other side of the bed, still holding the breakfast tray./p

p"Not at all," he said, accepting a plate and a mug of tea from her. "Breakfast in bed. You're spoiling me, woman. Surprised you managed. I've got almost nothing in."/p

p"You had eggs and vegetables, that's enough to make an omelette with," she said, carefully balancing her plate and tea. She set the mug down on the nightstand and began cutting into her eggs./p

p"This is lovely," Alec said around a mouthful of food./p

p"It's just eggs and toast," she said dismissively./p

p"Yeah," he said. "But it's eggs and toast in bed with a beautiful woman."/p

p"Quit trying to butter my parsnips," she said with a laugh./p

p"But I mean it, though," he said, bringing his hand up to cup her chin. "You're beautiful, Rose."/p

pShe couldn't help but look away under the intensity of his gaze. "So, you said you had work today?"/p

p"Yeah, but if the roads haven't been plowed there's no way I'm getting down to the station. They'll have to make due without me, I suppose," he answered./p

p"So what do you want to do today then?" she asked, taking a bite of one of her toast points./p

p"We could build a snowman," he teased./p

p"Yeah, except you haven't got any carrots for the nose," she replied./p

p"Days like this, I like to just lounge in bed with a good book and read. Don't suppose that would be much fun for you," he said thoughtfully./p

p"Oh, I wouldn't mind that at all. You'll have to lend me another book, though," she said./p

pHe smiled at her. "I think I can manage that. Got two bookshelves full of books out in the living room. You can take your pick."/p

pThey finished their breakfast in comfortable silence. Alec gathered the dishes and brought them to the kitchen when they were done. Between him washing and Rose drying, the dishes were taken care of in only a few short minutes./p

p"Think I'm going to hit the shower before I climb back into bed. Why don't you take a look at the bookshelves, see if anything strikes your fancy?" Alec said./p

p"Think I will," she said, wandering back out into the living room. The bookshelves were packed tight, with hardly any space to add anything new. Her eyes scanned the titles, waiting for something to jump out at her. The first book that caught her eyes was titled iThe Time Traveler's Wife/i. She thought she'd heard of it before, but she didn't know anything about the plot or characters. She took the book with her back to the bedroom and crawled back under the comforter. She was finishing up the first chapter when Alec reemerged, wearing a fresh tshirt and the same pyjama bottoms./p

p"So, you find anything good?" he asked, climbing back into the bed./p

pShe flashed the book's cover at him. "Found this. A sci-fi romance, apparently. Was surprised to see it on your shelf. You don't strike me as the romance reading type."/p

p"I'm not, not really. That book is my daughter's, she must have left it here last time she came to visit. You're welcome to read it, though," he said, picking his own book up from the nightstand./p

pThey read together in comfortable silence, the only sounds the turning of pages and the occasional cough or clearing of the throat. After an hour or so of that, Rose's mobile began to ring./p

p"Oh, that's Ellie," she said, looking at the caller ID. She swiped her finger across the screen and held the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"/p

p"Hey Rose, it's Ellie. Happy New Year."/p

p"Happy New Year yourself. What's up?" Rose asked, relaxing against her pillow./p

p"Listen, I'm sorry to have to do this but I'm going to have to cancel dinner tonight. With all the snow, I'm still stuck in Bristol with the boys."/p

p"Yeah, it's still pretty bad here in Broadchurch. They haven't plowed the roads or anything. I'm stuck at Alec's house now," Rose replied./p

p"What are you doing over there?"/p

p"I came over last night to celebrate New Year's Eve. It wasn't so bad when I got here, but by the time midnight had rolled around the roads were completely covered, so I stayed over," Rose answered./p

p"You spent the night at Alec's?!" Ellie's incredulous voice came over the phone. Next to her, Alec raised his eyebrows. Evidently, he had overheard./p

p"It's not what you're thinking Ellie. We didn't plan it like that, it just wasn't safe for me to drive home last night," Rose said, slightly amused at Ellie's over the top reaction to the news that her and Alec had spent the night together./p

p"Well where did you sleep?" Ellie asked./p

p"In his bed," Rose answered./p

p"And where did he sleep?"/p

p"In his bed," Rose said, steeling herself for Ellie's reaction./p

p"YOU SLEPT IN THE SAME BED?!"/p

p"Well it's not like he could've slept on that tiny ass little couch of his. It was nothing, really," Rose said, shooting a look at Alec, who was doubled over laughing. "Honestly, what are you, my mother?"/p

p"Sorry, sorry. You just took me by surprise. The same bed? Really?"/p

p"Nothing happened, if that's what you're getting at," Rose replied, worrying her thumbnail. "He was a perfect gentleman."/p

p"He'd better be. So what are you two doing now?"/p

p"We're just sitting in bed, reading. Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid," Rose answered./p

p"So are you two like...dating now?" Ellie asked, sounding almost eager./p

p"I don't know. We haven't really discussed that. Anyway, Alec is literally right next to me. It might be a bit rude to have this conversation right now," Rose said./p

p"Alec's there? Let me talk to him," Ellie said./p

pRose held the phone down, and looked at Alec. "She wants to talk to you."/p

pAlec held his hand out for the phone with a sigh. "Give it here."/p

pRose handed him the mobile and he held it up to his ear. "Yes, Miller?"/p

p"Hardy, try not to arse this up by being your typical self," she warned him./p

p"Oi!"/p

p"You know perfectly well what I mean. Look, you obviously like Rose, she obviously likes you. Just make sure you keep it to her pace. She's still grieving. Don't pressure her to do anything she isn't ready to do," Ellie said./p

p"I resent what you're implying. It was never my intent to take advantage of Rose. This thing between us, whatever it is, it's mutual. And we've talked about what it means. But that's between me and her. MYOB, Miller," Alec growled into the phone./p

p"Hey, I'm just looking out for her. I know what it's like to suddenly lose the man you love. Anyway, as I was saying, don't arse it up by being your typical self. Be honest with her."/p

p"Point taken. Your concern is appreciated, but Rose and I are taking it nice and slow, and that's absolutely fine. Goodbye, Miller," he said, ending the call./p

p"Everything okay? What did Ellie want?" Rose asked./p

pAlec scrubbed at his face. "She was worried I might be pressuring you into doing things you aren't ready to do."/p

p"Like what?"/p

p"Well, I assume she meant sex, but she didn't actually elaborate," he said, still sounding irritated. "She could've meant a relationship in general. Do you feel like I'm pressuring you?"/p

p"No, not at all," she said quickly. "Alec, I want to be here. With you. That's my choice. If things are going to happen, they will when they're meant to."/p

p"So you don't feel like this is moving too fast?" he asked, taking her hand in his and stroking the inside of her wrist with his thumb./p

p"We haven't even defined what 'this' is yet," she answered. "What do you want it to be?"/p

p"Honestly? I want to be with you. Like officially. I want you to be my...girlfriend," he said shyly, looking down. "But I completely understand if you aren't ready for that. If it's too soon for you. I'm happy with just being friends who, er, occasionally snog. Or don't. Whatever you like."/p

pShe quieted him by pressing her lips to his own. "I want to be with you too, Alec. And no, I don't think it's too soon. John would want me to be happy, and being with you makes me happy. I can grieve that John is gone, but still want to be with you. The two things don't have to be mutually exclusive, despite what other people may think. I'm the one who gets to decide when I'm ready, not anyone else. What better time then the New Year?"/p

pHe pulled back to look at her. "So does that mean…?" he asked, not daring to hope./p

pShe smiled at him. "Yes. I want to be your girlfriend."/p

p"That's brilliant," he said, tugging her against him and wrapping his arms around her. She let her head come to rest in the crook of his neck. She inhaled deeply. He smelled so good, like lavender, vanilla and cedarwood./p

p"You're wearing the aftershave I got you," she said, delighted./p

p"Well, yeah. The stuff you got me smells much nicer than the generic crap I was using before. And besides...you got it for me," he said with a smile./p

p"I started reading that book you gave me while I was at my parents. I admit, I was a little reluctant at first because I know C.S. Lewis was religious and I'm really not, but he's really eloquent. I've been highlighting the quotes I like best. There are quite a few of them," she murmured into his neck./p

p"I'm glad. I found it really helpful when I lost my sister. Lewis just has a way with words, but he nailed grief exactly when he said he never expected it to feel so much like fear," Alec replied, running his fingers through her hair./p

p"I didn't know you lost your sister. I'm sorry," Rose said, leaning back to look at him. Tenderly, she brushed the hair back from his forehead./p

p"Yeah, it was about ten years ago now. She had ovarian cancer. Suppose that was the only upside to the situation-we knew she was going to die ahead of time. We had time to prepare for it. Didn't make it any easier when it happened, but...yeah," he said softly./p

p"Oh, Alec," she said, tightening her grip on him./p

p"Anyway, on the related topic of health, there's something I have to tell you. Last year, I had a pacemaker put in," he told her./p

pShe pulled back to look at him. "Why are you telling me this now?"/p

pHe released his grasp on her and began rubbing the back of his neck. "Miller told me I should be honest with you, so I'm being honest with you. I figure if we're going to be together, that's something you should know."/p

pRose's stomach dropped. Her face must have reflected her discomfort, prompting Alec to speak again./p

p"Hey, it's okay. I'm alright now, no worries," he reassured her./p

p"No, it's not that," she said. "It's just…I have something to tell you, too."/p

p"What?" he asked. "What is it?"/p

pShe looked up at him, dreading the words she was about to say. "I'm pregnant."/p


	11. Chapter 11

"You're iwhat/i?" Alec said, his eyebrows shooting up.

Rose bit her lip and repeated herself. "I'm pregnant."

"Yeah, I heard you the first time, I'm just in shock," he replied.

"You want to run away, don't you?" she asked, looking down.

"No, it's not that. I'm just not sure how to react. I don't know if I should be happy or sad for you," he said, taking both her hands in his.

"Don't be sad. I was, at first. But I'm not anymore," she replied.

"John's?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, Rose," he said, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "No wonder you've been glowing."

She laughed. "Hardly."

"You really are, though. You're beautiful. Can I…?" he said, extending his hand towards her.

"Yeah."

He laid his palm flat on her stomach. "How far along are you?"

"Just about about twelve weeks now. Still got a ways to go yet," she answered.

"How long have you known?"

"Since the day after I got here. That night in A and E they took my blood, and that was one of the tests they ran," she replied. He still hadn't moved his hand off of her stomach.

"Does Ellie know?"

"Yeah, I told her right after I found out. I was holding off on telling you. Suppose I was afraid of how you'd react," she sit, fidgeting. "I figured if I told you, I'd scare you off."

He kissed her knuckles. "After everything I've seen, I doubt you could tell me anything that would scare me off. I mean, you told me I look just like your dead fiance, and I didn't run then. I'm certainly not going to do it now."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that," she said, lacing her fingers through his. "Most men would go running at the fiance thing, let alone the baby."

"I'm not like most men."

"No, you certainly aren't," she agreed.

"That little cottage you're in is a bit small for two, though. What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Well, when I went home, I told my parents I wanted to sell my flat in London. My step-dad said he'd take care of it. I'm going to look for a place to rent, here in Broadchurch. I've decided to stay indefinitely," she said.

"The place across the street is for rent," he suggested helpfully.

"Gee, and I don't suppose you have any ulterior motives for telling me that," she said, her tongue poking through her teeth.

"Not at all," he said innocently. "Just trying to be of help. Though I wouldn't mind having you living right across the street. Would probably be quite convenient, actually."

"Ah, but then I couldn't use the snow as an excuse to stay in bed with you," she replied.

"Fair point. But I think it'd be an even trade off, in the end," he said with a chuckle. "After all, it's only winter a few months out of the year. And maybe one day, you won't need the snow as an excuse to stay in my bed."

Rose flushed red. "I don't know when I'll be ready for all that."

"That's okay, I can wait. You're worth it," he said, brushing his lips softly against hers. "Besides, just doing this is rather nice. People rarely take the time to just enjoy a kiss for what it is."

"And what is that?" she whispered.

"It's a way to build trust and intimacy without bringing sex into it."

"Well then," she said. "What are you waiting for?"

Though they exchanged many, often passionate kisses over the following weeks, Alec remained true to his word, never pressing Rose for more than that. He would often visit her at the Soapery, bringing her tea and biscuits and other treats while she was working. Charlotte didn't mind having him around-he'd often help her move the heavier stuff that Rose wasn't able to lift in her condition They still took dinner with Ellie every Thursday night, though now they would sit next to each other and hold hands under the table while they ate. They embraced every chance they got. On the nights before Alec's day off, they would either go out to eat or Rose would cook them dinner, then they'd spent the night together. They would sleep spooned against each other, Rose's back to Alec's front and his palm spread protectively over her belly. When they woke, they would lounge in bed together, reading, or sometimes watching movies on one of their laptops. Pete packed up and sold her London flat without incident, putting the money into a savings account that she could use towards eventually renting and furnishing a new place. Around the end of January, in the middle of her sixteenth week, Rose's stomach went from flat to slightly convex overnight. She bought her first pair of maternity jeans, and lots of loose flowing tops with empire waistlines to hide her burgeoning belly.

It was the day after her eighteenth week ultrasound, Valentine's Day, that things went completely pear-shaped.

Rose and Alec had opted to stay in on Valentine's, knowing that any restaurants they went to would be loud, crowded and overly busy due to the holiday. They ordered Greek food and settled down on the couch to watch Casablanca.

The doorbell rang. "That'll be the food," Alec said, pausing the movie and getting up. Rose heard the door open, and then voices rising and falling as Alec and whoever was on the porch began arguing. Probably not the food, then. Rose heaved herself off the couch and went to see who it was.

"You need to leave. Now," Alec said firmly.

"Alec, who is it?" Rose said, coming up behind him. He was blocking the door with his body, but over his shoulder she could see a tall brunette woman standing on the porch.

"Who the hell is she?" the woman asked angrily, gesturing in Rose's direction.

"She's my girlfriend," Alec snapped. "Not that it's any of your business. Like I said, you need to be going."

"Alec, what's going on? Who is she?" Rose said, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm Tessa Henchard, Alec's wife," the brunette replied nastily.

"Ex-wife," Alec said through clenched teeth.

"It doesn't have to be like that," Tessa replied, her tone slightly more gentle.

"Tess, you and I are over. Way over. You made your choice when you cheated on me with that wanker. You left me, remember? You broke my goddamn heart. We agreed that we wouldn't have contact with each other, unless it was in regards to Daisy. So you really need to get the hell off my porch and leave me and Rose alone!" Alec shouted.

"Fine. But this isn't over," Tessa threatened.

"Oh, it most certainly is," Alec replied, slamming the door in her face. He was breathing heavily with the force of his anger when he turned back around to look at Rose.

"Alec, are you alright?" Rose asked, concerned.

"No," he said, falling to his knees. "I don't feel so good. I'm cold, dizzy, having trouble breathing, my hands are tingling and my heart is racing in my chest."

"Oh my God! Hold on, here's your coat. I'm taking you to the hospital," Rose said, struggling into her pea coat and grabbing her purse. Alec did not protest, but instead let her herd him out of the house and into the car. They drove to the hospital in nervous silence, the only sound the road under the tires and Alec's ragged, shallow breathing. Rose parked the car as close as she could to the door of the Accident and Emergency department and helped Alec walk from the car to the door. After being told that he had a history of heart problems and a pacemaker, they took him right back to be assessed. Rose sat nervously in the waiting area, biting her fingernails and tapping her feet on the floor. She finally thought to go outside and call Ellie to let her know what was going on.

"Hey Rose, Happy Valentine's Day. I thought you were with Alec?" Ellie said.

"I was. We're at Broadchurch Community Hospital now. They took him back to be assessed, I'm here waiting by myself," Rose said, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill over. "Ellie, the way he was describing his symptoms, it sounds like he might have had a heart attack."

"Oh my God! Let me call the nanny, and I'll be there as soon as I can," Ellie said, ringing off.

Rose slid her mobile into her pocket, and sat down on a bench. The wind was blowing, but she hardly could feel the cold over the permeating dread creeping through her. Finally, she began to cry, sobs wracking her entire body. The thought of losing Alec now terrified her. He'd become her rock, the person she confided in, the person who comforted her, the person who held her through her nightmares. She couldn't bare the thought of him dying, not after what had happened to John. She was still sitting outside crying when Ellie walked up about thirty minutes later. Rose accepted a packet of tissues from her, and let her coax her back into the waiting area, out of the cold.

"So what happened?" Ellie asked, once they were sitting down.

"His ex-wife showed up on the porch. They argued. It sounded like she wanted to get back together with him. God, he was so angry! And then he slammed the door in her face, and collapsed in the hallway, complaining that his heart was pounding, his hands were tingling, he was having trouble breathing…" Rose said, her breath hitching in her throat. She was so worked up she was unable to continue talking. Ellie sat stalwart beside her, clutching her hand sympathetically. About an hour later, a nurse came out to tell them that Alec had been stabilised, and they could go back and see him if they wished. Rose and Ellie followed after the young woman, who lead them through a set of double doors. She stopped in the hallway outside of Alec's room, and gestured for them to enter.

Alec was sitting up in the bed, propped up by several pillows. His shirt was half unbuttoned, leaving his chest exposed. He mustered a weak smile at the women when they entered. "I had a panic attack," he said sheepishly. "Never had one before, I thought I was dying."

"Oh, thank God. You scared the bloody hell out of me!" Rose said, running to him. She peppered his face with a dozen relieved kisses before letting him enfold her in his arms.

"Sorry. I guess I'm going to be a little harder to get rid of," he said lightly. Rose leaned back and smacked him on the chest.

"Don't even say stuff like that. I can't bare the thought of losing you," she said, burying her face in his neck.

"Well if you're okay then, I'm going to go. The nanny is with the kids," Ellie said, shoving her hands into her coat pockets.

"I'm fine, Miller. Thanks for coming to sit with Rose," he said over the top of her head.

"Anytime," Ellie replied, turning and leaving the hospital room.

"I'm so sorry I frightened you, Rose," Alec said apologetically after Ellie had gone.

She sniffed. "It's alright. Just try not to do it again."

"Some Valentine's Day this turned out to be," he said ruefully, stroking her hair.

"I'm just glad you're okay. I don't care about Valentine's Day. Although I do feel bad for the poor delivery driver who probably stood out on the porch for God knows how long," she said with a watery little laugh.

"We don't have to stay here, you know. It was just a panic attack, so they don't need to keep me. They gave me some hydroxyzine for the anxiety, and I feel much better now," he said.

"Alright then," she said, clambering off of him. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"I second that motion," Alec said, buttoning up his shirt and throwing his coat on. He offered her his hand, and they strolled together out of the hospital and back out to the car.

"Do you think she'll come back?" Rose asked once they were on the road.

He sighed. "Tessa? I don't know. I really hope not, but she said 'this isn't over', and I'm not sure how literally she meant that."

"Can't you do something? Like get a restraining order?" Rose asked, briefly shifting her gaze from the road to his face.

"Maybe. It's a bit unlikely I'd be granted a restraining order, seeing as she didn't actually hurt me or threaten me. But I have to think about Daisy. If I took out a restraining order against Tess, that would make things a lot more complicated," he said, scrubbing at his face.

"So what are you going to do then?" she asked him anxiously.

"I'm going to ignore her and hope that she takes the hint," he said.

"Will that even work?" Rose asked him.

He frowned. "Knowing Tess...probably not. But I don't know what else I can do, under the circumstances."

Rose pulled up outside of Alec's house and put the car in park. "You don't think she'd do anything to hurt us, do you?"

"I doubt she'd be that stupid," Alec reassured Rose, getting out of the car.

"I hope you're right about that," she said, following him back into the house. In their haste to get to the hospital, they'd left the front door unlocked. Inside, nothing seemed disturbed. They hung their coats up in the closet and turned to look at each other. Suddenly, Rose had pushed Alec up against the closet door and was snogging him senseless. Her hands slid up under his shirt and began roaming his chest, while he let his hands drift down to cup her bum. They kissed urgently, tongues dancing together in a fight for supremacy. He tasted of the tea with lemon he'd been drinking before they'd gone to the hospital.

"Bedroom!" Rose gasped against his lips, sliding her hands back down his chest to grab his hand. He let her tug him into his room, where they both hurried to shed their clothing before tumbling naked onto the bed.

Alec began an unhurried exploration of her body with his lips, pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses to the sweet-scented hollow of her neck, across her collarbones, between her breasts, over the gentle swell of her stomach. He laved each of her nipples in turn, licking and sucking until they'd pulled into dusky, stiff little peaks. Reaching between them, he found the damp thatch of curls between her thighs and pressed his thumb into to her clit, rubbing in delicious little circles until she was pulled taut as a wire, desperately clutching at him and biting her lip. As she shuddered beneath him, he took himself in hand, lined himself up with her entrance, and finally pushed inside her wet, hot heat, burying himself to the hilt. He pulled back and began thrusting in and out of her, settling into a gentle but steady rhythm that set her blood ablaze. She pulled up her knees and locked her legs around his waist, encouraging him to go deeper, harder, faster. He thrust with increased vigor, his eyes beginning to glaze over as sweat beaded up on his brow. When he kissed her, it tasted salty, like tears. A rush of heat surged through her body, and when her muscles clenched tightly around him and she was crying out, he gasped her name and spilled himself inside her. Panting, he collapsed on top of her, resting his forehead briefly against hers before he rolled onto his side and pulled her tightly against him. He pulled the comforter up from the bottom of the bed and tucked it around them. Dropping a kiss to the crown of her head, he sighed.

"Damn, I didn't even think to use a condom," he said sheepishly. "I was so excited to get into your knickers."

"Well, it's not like I can get pregnant. And anyway, I'm disease free."

"Yeah, so am I," he replied.

"Worth waiting for?" she asked.

When he answered, she could almost hear the smile in his voice. His breath was warm on the back of her neck. "Oh, absolutely. It was brilliant. Well worth the wait. You?"

"It was amazing. Thank you," she said sincerely.

He chuckled. "I would say the pleasure is all mine, but I both think we know that's not entirely true."

"Careful Hardy, your ego's showing," she teased.

He nestled against her. "What can I say? Maybe you just bring out the best in me."

She turned around to face him. His hair was plastered against his forehead and he was grinning broadly. The expression on his face was so achingly familiar, she felt a brief pang of sadness. Brushing his hair away from his forehead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and nibbled gently. She hummed in approval, raking her nails through his hair. He swung his leg over her hip, and she felt him hot and stiff against her belly.

"Well look at that. You're already hardy again," she said, her tongue poking its way between her teeth.

He laughed. "You idid not/i just say that."

"Mmm, 'fraid so. What are you going to do about it?"

His smile turned wolfish. "Oh, I've got a few ideas."


	12. Chapter 12

A few days later, Rose was sitting at her kitchen table on her laptop, looking up two bedrooms to rent in Broadchurch. Her mobile began ringing. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was Jackie. She swiped her finger across the screen and answered the call. "Hi, mum."

"Rose, have you seen the Daily Mail today?" Jackie asked, her tone cool.

"Can't say that I have, no. Why?" Rose replied.

"Do me a favor. Get on your computer, go to the Daily Mail's website, and do a search for Vitex. Go ahead, I'll wait."

Perplexed, Rose clicked to open a new tab and entered the web address. The page loaded, and she typed Vitex into the little search box at the top of the page. It took a minute, but the results popped up. Rose swallowed heavily, reading the title of the first result: iVitex Heiress Dating Dead Fiance's Doppelganger/i. It had been posted three hours ago. She clicked on the article. At the very top of the page was a picture of her and Alec standing on her porch, locked at the lips and wrapped in a tight embrace. Judging by their clothes, she could tell it had only been taken the day previously.

"Care to explain yourself?" Jackie asked, her voice rising. "I thought he was supposed to be locked in another universe!"

"It's not what you're thinking, mum. It's not the Doctor. His name his Alec Hardy, and it's just a really strange coincidence that he looks like the Doctor. Just like there were doubles of Pete and Mickey and you in this universe...there was apparently a human double of the Doctor, too," Rose said, biting her lip.

"And I suppose it was just coincidence too that you happened to end up moving to the town where this man lives. Tell the truth Rose-is he the real reason you decided to move to Broadchurch?"

"Mum, I had no idea he even existed before I came here. I'd never heard of him before. The first time I met him, I thought he was the Doctor!" Rose defended herself. "But they couldn't be more different, mum. They're really nothing alike."

"How long have you two been involved?"

"We were friends for a while first. We started dating on New Year's Eve. It just sort of...happened," Rose finished lamely. "I didn't tell you because I figured you'd freak out."

"What about John? He hasn't been dead that long. Rose, people are going to talk," Jackie admonished.

"Oh, like they talked when Pete Tyler married a woman who looked exactly like his dead wife? Bugger what other people think. I'm happy, mum. For the first time since John died, I'm happy, and don't you think he'd want that? He told me once before, have a fantastic life. I'm trying to do that."

"Suppose you would know. You were the only one that understood that mad alien," Jackie relented. "I want to meet him, then. This Alec Hardy. Think you could manage to squeeze a visit into your busy schedule?"

"He's a cop, mum. He can't just up and leave. He'd have to request off. Maybe we could come up to London for my birthday. I'll have to talk to him," Rose said.

"Your birthday's over two months away!"

"Well then I guess it will give you something to look forward to," Rose said, determined not to be steamrolled by her mother.

"I'd like to see you before then."

"Well, you're welcome to come to Broadchurch whenever. I've got a job, I've got stuff to do around here. And honestly, long car rides are starting to become uncomfortable," Rose admitted. "It seems like I have to run to the loo every five minutes these days."

"Well, I guess I could leave Tony with your father for the weekend," Jackie said uncertainly.

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. She wasn't wild about the idea of her mother descending on Broadchurch to give Alec the third degree, but she didn't see how she could avoid it. "If that's what you want to do, mum."

"Well gee Rose, don't sound so excited," Jackie said sarcastically.

"It's fine. Really. Are you going to stay at the cottage? There's only the one bed."

"No, I won't put you out. I'll get a room at a hotel or something," Jackie replied.

"Alright. So...guess I'll see you this weekend then," Rose said, twisting her hair around her fingers.

"Yeah, alright. I'll call you before I get there, so you'll know when to expect me."

"'Kay. Bye," Rose said, ringing off. She let out a deep breath. How had the media even found out about her and Alec? No one knew she was in Broadchurch except Jake and her family, and they wouldn't have sold her out to the press. No, someone local must have tipped them off. The only time she could recall being recognized was that one day at the shoe shop, but that had been ages ago. It didn't make sense that the clerk would have waited this long to say something to the media, and besides that he wouldn't have known about her and Alec, unless by some coincidence he had seem them out together. She was still pondering that as she dialed Alec's number to warn him.

"Rose, is everything okay?" he answered immediately, sounding concerned.

"Not exactly. I'm afraid the cat is out of the bag. The media somehow found out I was here. They published an article about you and me in the Daily Mail this morning. The only thing I can't figure out is how they found me. No one knew I was here."

"Son of a bitch," Alec swore. "Tessa. She must have recognized you. This is obviously her way of getting revenge because I turned her down."

Rose considered this. It was the only thing that made sense, especially in light of Tessa's ominous threat to Alec: ithis isn't over/i. "This is probably only just the beginning. Now that they know I'm here, it's only a matter of time before more of them show up, looking for a story. What are we going to do?"

"Oh, believe me, after Sandbrook and the Latimer case, I've gotten quite accustomed to dodging the media. We'll deal with it. It's going to be alright," he reassured her.

"I hope you're right. Oh, and there's something else. My mum wants to meet you. She's coming to Broadchurch this weekend," Rose said anxiously.

"This weekend, huh?" Alec said wryly. "Exactly how worried should I be?"

"Have you ever seen Meet the Parents?" she asked.

"Yeah. But how is that relevant?" he asked, confused.

"My mum is like Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents."

"Oh," he stuttered. "Well...that's encouraging."

"What should I wear?" he asked her, rifling through the left side closet, a towel wrapped around his waist. He was fresh out of the shower, and his hair was looking wonderfully tousled.

"I don't know. Wear whatever you want," she said from her spot on the bed. She'd just gotten off the phone with Jackie. She was about an hour away.

"Should I wear a suit? I don't want to seem like I'm trying too hard, but I don't want to look like a slob, either," he fretted. He emerged from the closet, holding a hanger with a blue suit on it. "What do you think about this one?"

She frowned. She'd never seen him wear anything other than black or grey suits. She wasn't sure if she was prepared to see him in blue. Blue reminded her of John, and she was not trying to make comparisons between the two of them. "I'm not sure about the blue. Why don't you just wear a jumper and trousers?"

"Suppose I could do," he said, replacing the blue suit and peering back into the closet. "How about chinos and a button down shirt?"

"Yeah, I think that'd probably be fine. Quit obsessing over it."

He looked put out. "I just want to make a good first impression," he pouted.

She got up and put her hands on his shoulders. "It'll be fine. Really. She's not a monster, she's just a little intimidating, that's all. I'm sure you've met worse. Besides, just be yourself, the you you are around me, and she won't be able to help but like you."

He kissed her. "I'll do my best."

"Good, now that that's settled, drop that towel. It won't take you long to get dressed, and we've got time to kill," she said with a grin.

They were still in bed together when the doorbell rang about 45 minutes later. Alec stopped the naughty things he was doing with his fingers. They exchanged a panicked look with each other. "Shit!" they said in unison. Rose sprung from the bed, picked up her knickers from the floor and pulled them on as Alec rushed to the closet. She hopped into jeans and pulled her jumper on over her head, not bothering with her bra. She dashed out into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind her. The bell rang again just as she was flinging the front door open. "Hi, mum," she said, a bit too breathlessly.

Jackie took in her disheveled appearance-the mussed hair, the pink cheeks, the too tight jumper stretched tight over her protruding belly. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked archly.

"No, sorry. We were snuggling and we fell asleep," Rose said.

"Right," Jackie replied, raising her eyebrows.

Rose flushed. "Listen, I sleep all the time now. It's not like it's unusual for a pregnant woman."

"I'm not saying anything," Jackie replied. "Now, are you going to invite me in or not?"

"Of course. Come in, mum. Alec's getting dressed. He should be out in a minute," she said, stepping back from the door to allow her mother entrance. Jackie swept inside and Rose shut the door behind her. Together, t hey went into the living room.

"It's a bit spartan, innit?" Jackie observed.

"I hadn't noticed," Rose said flatly. She sat down on the couch, and Jackie plopped down beside her.

"Well, you're looking healthy, at least," she said.

Rose rubbed the swell of her stomach absently. "Yeah, the doctor says everything is proceeding well. The baby is healthy. I find out the gender at my appointment next month."

Alec picked that moment to emerge into the living room. He saw the two women squeezed in next to each other on the couch. "Let me just grab a chair from my study," he said, disappearing back down the hall. He returned a few moments later pushing a rolling desk chair. He pulled it up in front of the couch, leaving a few feet of space between himself and the women. "So, you must be Mrs. Tyler."

"Just Jackie will do. Mrs. Tyler is my mother-in-law," she said.

"I'm Alec Hardy," he said, extending his hand to Jackie. She didn't take it, and uncomfortably, he withdrew.

"God, it's weird. You really look just like him," Jackie remarked softly.

Rose cleared her throat. "But he's not, mum. He's not John."

"I know that," she replied curtly. "I'm not stupid. It couldn't be him."

"No one's calling you stupid, mum," Rose said, trying not to sound exasperated. This visit was already off to a great start.

"So," Jackie said, her hands clasped in her lap. "Tell me about yourself, Alec."

"What do you want to know?" he replied, leaning forward.

"Tell me the basics. Like the kind of stuff you'd put on an online dating profile," she said.

"Uhhh, well I've never online dated before, so you may have to be a bit more specific than that," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Just tell me about your life, you plum."

Alec tried not to look too offended at the insult. "Well, I was born and raised in Glasgow. Middle child, only boy. I married my childhood sweetheart and joined the police academy when I was twenty and I'm a DI now. I've been divorced for about two and a half years. I have a sixteen year old daughter named Daisy. I like to read and I like to run, but other than that, I don't have too many hobbies."

"How old are you then?" Jackie asked.

"I'm 38," he replied.

"Ten years older than Rose. Though I suppose that isn't much of an age gap in comparison to...oh, nevermind that. What are your intentions for my daughter?" Jackie questioned.

"I'm sorry?" he said.

"Your intentions for my daughter. What are they?" Jackie said flatly.

Rose and Alec exchanged an uneasy look. "Well, we only just started dating about seven weeks ago. But we're exclusive. I'm not seeing anyone else, nor do I want to. I care a great deal about your daughter," he responded earnestly.

"And what about the baby? It's not yours, you have no reason to stick around. Are you going to go swanning off as soon as it's born?" Jackie pressed.

"It was never my intention to abandon Rose because she's pregnant with another man's child. If I cared about all that, I wouldn't be involved with her now. I care about Rose, and I care about this baby, as much as if it were my own. Whatever she needs, whatever they need, I'll support them. I can promise you that much," he replied.

Rose was shocked by the sincerity of his words. They had never really talked about the specifics of their relationship, or how serious they were about each other at any great length. They just took one day at a time-that was all they were really able to do. He reached out and squeezed her hand, and smiled reassuringly at her. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Satisfied, mum?" Rose asked lightly.

"Suppose so. But I'll warn you, Alec Hardy, if you hurt my daughter, they'll be lucky to find pieces of you," Jackie threatened.

"Honestly, there's no need to be so melodramatic," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"It's alright Rose. She's just looking out for you. That's a mother's job," Alec replied, stroking his thumb along the inside of her wrist. "Although now I see where the fire inside you comes from."

Both women laughed. "Quite right," Jackie said, the scowl on her face finally melting away.

"So," Rose said as they were getting ready for bed that night. "As bad as you were expecting?"

"Not at all. The way you talked about her, I was figuring it would be dragon lady territory. She didn't really ask anything I wasn't already expecting. It's obvious she was just looking out for your best interests. Honestly, I'd probably do the same to a boy that wanted to date my daughter," Alec answered, folding back the covers and climbing into bed.

"This feels like more than just casual dating, though. What you said, about supporting me and the baby...that's serious," Rose said.

"Move in with me," Alec blurted suddenly.

"Wait, what?" Rose said, turning to look at him.

"We already spend five nights a week together, six if you count Thursdays at Ellie's. I've got a key to your place, you've got a key to mine. I moved all my clothes into the left closet so you'd have space for your stuff. We already share the housework. And so far, you haven't been able to find a two bedroom in Broadchurch that you really like. This house is technically a two bedroom. The only thing I've got in the study now is my computer desk, but there's room in the living room for that. We could paint the study, turn it into a nursery," he replied. "What do you think?"

"You'd really want to do that?" she asked, still in a state of disbelief. Then again, her first Doctor had given her a key to the TARDIS after they'd only known each other for a couple of days, and it wasn't like they were together at the time. She trusted Alec, and he trusted her. Maybe this was just the natural progression of things between them.

"Rose, you're the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think of before I go to bed at night. I'm 38 years old, I'm not getting any younger. I'm looking for a long-term relationship, not a casual fling. I don't want to just be casual with you. I want to wake up next to you every day," he said, taking her hands in his.

"You've obviously put a lot of thought into this," she said.

"I would've asked you sooner, but I didn't want to freak you out. These last seven weeks with you...they've just been incredible. I can't remember the last time I was so happy," he said, resting his forehead against hers. "Of course, if you don't feel the same way…"

"No, I do. I definitely do. You just took me by surprise, that's all. I mean, we said we'd take it slow, but I don't know...sometimes when you know, you just know," she said, brushing the hair away from his brow.

"So does that mean you'll move in with me?" he asked hopefully.

She smiled back at him. "Yeah. I do have a few conditions, though."

"Name them," he replied.

"One: we split the rent and utilities two ways. I'm not a charity case, I don't want to do this just to save money. Two: you agree to let me replace that natty old couch of yours. And maybe buy a few armchairs, too," she said.

"Is that it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Suppose so, yeah. That alright with you?"

"Rose Tyler," he said with a grin. "You've got yourself a deal."


	13. Chapter 13

iAbout a month later…/i

"Do you think you could go with me to my doctor's appointment tomorrow?" Rose asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. She served herself from the pot of stew sitting in the middle of the table.

"Well yeah, sure, if you want me to. Is everything okay?" Alec asked, concerned.

"Everything's fine," Rose said, reaching across the table to grab his hand. "It's just I find out the gender tomorrow, and I'd like it if you were there. The baby is due on your birthday, after all."

Rose had revealed that fact to him weeks ago, back when she'd first told him she was pregnant. They had joked about how it must be some strange sign from the universe.

"Are you hoping for a girl or a boy?" he asked.

"I don't really care. Either would be fine with me. What about you?" she asked, leaning back against her chair.

"Girls are precious. Though I hear boys are supposedly easier," he said, taking a bite of stew.

"Mum told me if there was any justice in this world, I'd have a daughter just like me," Rose laughed.

"Well I don't know. You turned out alright," he offered.

"Just alright?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He sighed. "No, not just alright. Brilliant."

"That's more like it," Rose teased.

"Alright mum and dad, the moment of truth," Doctor Morris said. "It's a boy."

Neither Rose nor Alec bothered to correct the doctor's assumption that he was the father. They were too busy grinning madly at each other as Doctor Morris wiped the ultrasound gel off Rose's belly. She handed a copy of the sonogram to Alec, then turned to Rose.

"Starting after your next visit, I'm going to want to be seeing you every two weeks, alright?"

"Yeah, of course," Rose nodded. The doctor left the room, leaving the two of them alone together.

"A boy," Alec said, still grinning like a fool. "That's brilliant."

"Yeah," Rose said, swiping at the tears that were building up in her eyes.

Alec's face fell. "What's wrong?"

Rose stifled a sob. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking that he'll probably look just like his dad."

Wordlessly, Alec gathered her into his arms. He didn't say anything, just rocked her slowly and gently until her tears had subsided. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Let's get out of here, yeah?"

"Yeah, alright," she sniffled. They left the exam room, and Rose scheduled her 26th week appointment for the following month. They were walking hand in hand out of the doctor's office when a dark haired man in a brown coat accosted them.

"Rose Tyler?" he asked, following after them.

"Who's asking?" she said briskly.

"Oliver Stevens, Broadchurch Echo. Just to confirm, you and Mister Hardy here are in a relationship?"

"No comment," Rose said, continuing to walk.

"You're pregnant. Is the baby Alec's, or your fiance's?" he pressed.

"She said no comment," Alec snapped, rounding on the reporter. "Piss off!"

Oliver hesitated for a moment, but seeing the look on Hardy's face evidently decided not to press the issue. He cleared off, disappearing to the other side of the parking lot.

Alec opened Rose's door before walking around to the driver's side. He got in and slammed the door a little too hard. He pounded his fist against the dashboard. "He's Ellie nephew, you know. Son of a bitch."

"You don't think Ellie told him, do you?" Rose asked nervously.

"I doubt it. She knows better. Besides, she would never sell you out like that anyway. He must have followed us from my house. I swore I kept seeing the same car behind me on the way over here, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Obviously, when he saw what kind of doctor's office it was he must have put two and two together."

Rose sighed. "Well, it was bound to happen eventually. I can't hide it under frumpy clothes for much longer, not really. And anyway, they can't really say anything worse than what they said back when they found out we were dating."

There had been many articles about the Vitex heiress' relationship with the former worst cop in Britain. Some had accused Alec of taking advantage of a grieving widow. Others had decried Rose as being simply cold hearted. There had been several times they'd been accosted by reporters-when they were out to eat, leaving Tesco's, coming out of work. Their standard protocol was to just ignore them, or to say 'no comment'. They let the media speculate on the specifics of their relationship, and the fact that Alec looked just like John Smith. When one reporter had gone after Ellie to ask about Rose and Alec's relationship, she had told him in no uncertain terms to get bent.

"Suppose you're right," he said with a sigh, putting the car into gear. "Anyway, shall we go to Homebase? Now that we know what color we'll be painting the nursery."

"Yeah, alright," Rose agreed, resting her head against the window. She was more anxious about the fact that her pregnancy had been discovered than she was currently letting on. She wasn't ready to share it with the world yet, but it seemed the decision was out of her hands.

"So I know we just found out it was a boy, but have you thought of any names?" Alec asked conversationally.

"I don't know. I don't know if I want to name him after John or not. Maybe for a middle name. Might name him Mickey, after that mate of mine who was Cyberised," Rose answered.

Alec nodded. "Mickey. I like that."

"Mind you," she said lightly. "I also like the name Alexander."

He looked over at her, surprised. "Really? You don't think that might get confusing?"

'Not if it was his middle name. John Alexander. I actually kind of like the sound of that," Rose mused. "John Alexander Tyler."

"I must admit, I'm flattered. I know it's not my name, not exactly, but it's close enough," he said, reaching out to take her hand.

"Alec, you saved my life. I was adrift on an ocean of grief, and you rescued me. You've helped me try to move past John's death. I was empty, and you made me whole again. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't met you," Rose confessed.

"Oh, you didn't need me. You're a survivor," he said dismissively.

"No," she said firmly, looking him in the eye. "Don't discount how much you've helped me, how important you are to me. I love you, Alec."

A sunny grin spread across his face. "Oh Rose Tyler, I love you, too."

They pulled into the parking lot of Homebase and Alec put the car into park. He turned to Rose, and kissed her passionately on the lips. Awkwardly, they embraced over the gearshift. They sat like that for several minutes before Rose finally pulled back.

"Alright Mister Hardy. First order of domestic business is to acquire paint in a suitable shade of blue,"she said, tongue poking its way between her teeth.

They walked into Homebase together. Alec steered their trolley around the store until they reached the paint aisle. They rifled through the wall of paint samples, Rose vetoing several lighter shades of blue in favor of a darker shade that matched her memory of the TARDIS. Of course, she didn't make mention of that to Alec. Her life in the other universe wasn't something she even could begin to know how to explain without sounding mental. She knew she'd have to tell Alec eventually, but she was banking on that day being long in the future, assuming things between them lasted. She had no reason to believe that they wouldn't. They fought briefly over who would pay for the paint and other supplies before agreeing to split the cost halfway. Alec drove home in a better mood, laughing and chattering all the way back to the house.

"Think I might actually get started painting today. I just have to move the desk out of there, but that won't take long," he said as he unlocked the front door.

"Do you want help painting?" Rose asked, hanging her coat in the closet.

"Nah, you shouldn't be inhaling the paint fumes. It's not good for you or the baby," Alec replied.

"I looked on the internet, and it said it's fine so long as the room is ventilated and it's not lead or oil based paint," Rose countered.

"Still, I'd feel better if you weren't exposed to the fumes either way. Let me do it. It'll only take a couple of hours, it's a pretty small room," he said.

"Alright, if you insist," Rose said, kicking off her shoes. She retreated into the newly refurnished living room and collapsed onto the sofa. True to her word, Rose had replaced Alec's worn old blue couch with a nicer, newer sofa, in a similar shade of blue to the piece it was replacing. She'd also bought a Persian rug, two cream-coloured wingback chairs, and two additional bookshelves to accommodate Alec's ever expanding literary collection. On the walls were a framed poster of Van Gogh's Starry Night and some photographs of the cliffs at Broadchurch Beach. The room was much cosier than it'd been before. Alec and Rose both approved of the improvements.

Rose leaned over, and picked up her laptop from where it was sitting on the floor. At this point, it was quite cumbersome to actually rest it in her lap, but she didn't want to rest it on top of her belly, either. She opened up the internet, and typed 'Broadchurch Echo' into Google. She opened the page and began scanning through the most recently posted articles. It didn't take her long to locate what she'd been looking for. The article was the fourth link down the recent posts page. The picture at the top of the page was of her leaving work the week before, her coat unbuttoned and hanging open. The jumper she'd been wearing was a bit tight, making her delicate state fairly obvious to anyone who wasn't blind. As if to add insult to injury, there was a big round circle around her obvious baby bump.

iVitex Heiress Pregnant?

by Oliver Stevens, Staff Reporter

Rumors have been circulating that Rose Tyler, step-daughter of Vitex founder Peter Tyler, is in a family way. It was only four and a half months ago that her fiance, King's College professor John Smith, was brutally gunned down by disturbed student Kevin Clark in what is now being referred to as the All Hallow's Eve Massacre. Sixteen people were killed, including Smith. Shortly after the shooting, Tyler relocated to Broadchurch, where she has been living since.

It was revealed last month that Tyler is dating former worst cop in Britain, DI Alec Hardy. In what has been deemed a rather strange coincidence, Hardy greatly resembles the Vitex heiress' dead fiance. Some have speculated that the two might even be related, though those claims have gone unsubstantiated. Hardy first gained notoriety after supposedly botching the murder case of two young girls in Sandbrook by losing evidence. It was revealed later that Hardy's wife at the time, DS Tessa Henchard, had actually been the one to lose the evidence after it was stolen from her car while she conducted an extramarital affair. Hardy initially shouldered the blame, not wanting his teenaged daughter to know about her mother's unfaithfulness. Later, he went on to vindicate himself by solving the murder of eleven year old boy, Daniel Latimer, killed by one Joseph Miller. Miller was the husband of Hardy's partner, DS Ellie Miller.

Tyler and Hardy were spotted today leaving obstetrician Tessa Morris's office, leading to speculation that the baby could possibly be Hardy's rather than Tyler's deceased fiance's. When asked to confirm their relationship and her pregnancy, Tyler declined to answer, saying 'no comment'./i

She sat back, her breath whooshing out of her. That hadn't taken long at all. The bloody tosser. She wondered how long it would take other news outlets to pick up the story and spread it like wildfire. Probably not long. Setting her laptop aside, she got up from the sofa and went to check on Alec's progress. When she entered the room, he was perched on a ladder with tarps spread out across the floor. She was impressed to see that he'd already given almost half the room its first coat of paint. He hadn't been kidding when he'd said he'd make quick work of it. The computer desk had been pushed out of the way and into the hallway. She decided not to mention the article on the Echo website, knowing it would just angry him up. No sense in both of them being upset. He would find out on his own soon enough, anyway.

"Can I make you a sandwich or something?" she offered, feeling slightly guilty that she wasn't helping him to paint.

"Yeah, that'd be lovely. And a cup of tea, maybe? Thank you," he said, repositioning the ladder.

Rose retreated to the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil. She pulled the sandwich fixings out of the fridge. Sourdough bread, turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. She made two sandwiches, one for each of them, while she waited for the water to boil. When it had finished, she fixed two cups of tea-lemon for him, cream and sugar for herself. She delivered the tea and sandwich to Alec, who stopped painting to accept the food and drink from her. Amazingly, his hands were paint free. He sat down on the ladder and began eating. Rose stood in the doorway, holding her sandwich in one hand and her cup of tea in the other. They ate together in comfortable silence.

"Well, I'm going to take a nap," Rose announced after she had finished eating.

"You go on ahead. I don't think it'll take me more than an hour or so to finish this," he told her.

She entered the bedroom and stripped down to just her bra and knickers. Gratefully, she slipped beneath the covers, nestling into her pillow and getting comfortable. It didn't take her long to drift off to sleep. She only woke up when she felt the bed dip beneath Alec's weight as he climbed in next to her an indeterminate amount of time later. He was freshly showered and shaved, his skin still warm and smelling of the tobacco and rum soap she'd bought him. They rolled towards each other, arms wrapping around each other as they shared a kiss.

"Did you finish painting the nursery?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Turned out it really only needed the one coat, that paint was pretty dark," he said, nuzzling against her shoulder.

"Well thanks for doing it," she said, letting him nibble gently at the crook of her neck.

"It was no problem," he replied, sliding his hands down her back to cup her bum. He pulled on her knickers, sliding them over her hips and down her legs, where she toed them to the side. He wasn't wearing any pants, and she could feel the evidence of his growing arousal pressed insistently against her thigh as they continued to kiss. Gently, he pushed her onto her back and moved to kneel between her legs. He kissed his way up her leg from knee to thigh, taking the time to nip at the delicate skin, his lips and tongue everywhere but the one place she was aching for him to touch. She knew it was bad to be thinking about another man during sex, but she couldn't help but be reminded of John, who had also liked to press lingering kisses to her body before getting down to business. He'd always been a bit of a tease like that. She forced the thought out of her head and instead focused on the incredibly sexy man currently showering her body with tender touches.

Finally, Alec lowered his head and began to lap in earnest at her clit, causing her to inhale sharply. She bucked her hips reflexively, and felt his hands move up to grip her waist, anchoring her firmly to the bed. He held her steady even as he continued to lick and suckle at her core, bringing her close to the precipice several times, but always pulling back before she could tumble over the edge. It would be maddening, if it didn't feel so damn good. Desire pooled low in her belly and she finally exploded with white hot light, shuddering against the bed as her orgasm ripped through her. Alec sat up to look at her, his lips pink and glistening with her juices. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and collapsed next to her on the bed. She didn't waste any time before moving to straddle him. Taking his length in her hand, she lined him up with her entrance, rubbing the head of his cock teasingly against her lips before finally sinking down onto him. He groaned and grabbed her by the hips as she began to move against him. Bracing herself against the bed with one hand, she used the other to reach over her shoulder and unhook her bra. If there was one thing she'd become after running with the Doctor and working for Torchwood, it was flexible She flung the garment onto the floor, and Alec reached up to caress her naked, bouncing breasts. Their sweat slicked bodies moved easily against each other, coming together like two pieces of the same puzzle.

"Rose!" he rasped, his body convulsing beneath her. She leaned back, still straddling him, and brushed damp strands of hair out of her face.

Suddenly, she felt a feeling within her, almost like butterflies. She gasped and her hands flew to her belly. "Oh my God."

"What?" he murmured, his gaze hazy.

She grabbed his hand and placed it over her swollen stomach. "Do you feel that? He's kicking."

"So he is," Alec replied, his fingers splayed against her belly. They sat like that in silence for several minutes, until the fluttering feeling subsided. Rose shifted off of him and sank back against the bed. Alec reached out, grabbing her hand and twining his fingers through her own. Both of them laid on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. With her free hand, Rose stroked softly at her stomach, waiting to see if the butterfly feeling would return. Eventually, Alec pulled her against him and they drifted off to sleep, their hands clasped tightly over her belly.


	14. Chapter 14

Rose and Alec were out to dinner, celebrating their three month anniversary. They'd returned to Caprese's Cafe, scene of their first date non-date back in November. It was a Tuesday night, so the restaurant wasn't overly crowded. That time, they both ordered the chicken.

"I've been thinking," Alec said, cutting into his food. "Maybe it's about time you met my daughter."

"Oh?" Rose answered, fork poised above her plate.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I've met your mum, only seems right that I introduce you to Daisy," he replied.

"Does that mean we're getting serious?" she asked.

"I thought we already were serious," he answered, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, yeah. More serious then," she replied.

"She'll be coming to Broadchurch this weekend. One of her mates is going to drive her down Saturday. So no worries, we won't have to deal with Tess."

"Well that's a relief," Rose said.

"I couldn't agree more," Alec replied. There was no love lost between him and his ex, especially not after she had threatened him and Rose and blabbed about them to the media.

"Does she know that you and me are together?" Rose asked.

"She knows that I have a girlfriend, yeah. Kind of hard to hide it, what with it being all over the news and everything," he said, sounding annoyed at the prospect. "And I'm sure her mother couldn't wait to slag me off after our last encounter."

"You're nervous about her meeting me, aren't you?" Rose said with dawning realisation.

"Well, of course I am. Not because you aren't wonderful-you obviously are. No, I'm just nervous because I know she hopes me and her mother might get back together. I doubt she'll be altogether thrilled that I have a semi-famous, pregnant girlfriend," he said, taking a sip of his wine.

Rose snorted. "Semi-famous. That's a laugh. You'd think I was the President, the way the press has been after me lately."

"Suppose they're still hoping you might confirm whose baby it is," he replied.

"Yeah, well that's never going to happen. They can keep on waiting," she said disgustedly. "I've never discussed my life with the media before, I'm not going to start doing it now."

They ordered dessert-tiramisu for him, stracciatella gelato for her. She was at a stage in her pregnancy where she wasn't willing to share her sweets with anyone, Alec included. He waved off her offers to split the tab with him, and they left the cafe to go to the car.

"So what do you want to do when we get home?" he asked conversationally.

"After that meal? Collapse onto the sofa and watch some Six Feet Under," she replied.

He looked slightly disappointed. "Is that all then?"

She laughed. "Well, I figured we'd end up in the bedroom eventually. You, sir, are insatiable."

"I haven't had any complaints from you yet," he replied, grinning back at her.

"Oh look, just up there. There's a pet shop. Can we stop and have a look? I always had a soft spot for animals," she said, pointing.

"Yeah, sure, if you want to," he said, pulling alongside the kerb and putting the car into park. She let him come around to open her door before stepping out of the car.

Inside the pet shop was noisy with the sounds of twittering birds, barking dogs, and mewling cats. They walked past rows of fish tanks before coming to the back of the shop, where the furry animals were locked inside of cages.

"It's so sad," Rose said, sticking her fingers through the bars of a cage to stroke softly at the kitten lounging inside. "I wish I could take them all home. John never really liked cats, but I've always wanted one."

"Yeah, alright," Alec said amiably. "Let's get a cat."

"Seriously?" Rose replied. "You want to get a cat?"

"Well," he said, jamming his hands into his pockets. "We're kinda sorta having a baby together, a cat is small potatoes in comparison. Besides, they've proven that having a pet is good for your blood pressure."

Rose broke out into a grin. "Look at you, going all domestic."

"I had some help with that," he replied, smiling back at her.

The shopkeep let Rose and Alec handle the cats to get a feel for their temperament. In the end, they both took a shine to a small orange kitten given the all too predictable name of Ginger. Alec's arms piled with food, litter, and other supplies and Rose holding the cardboard carrier with the cat in it, they walked back to the car. Alec deposited the food and litter into the boot, and Rose gently settled the carrier into the back seat, pulling the seat belt around it and buckling it in, just to be safe. Ginger expressed her distaste for the car by crying continuously on the drive back to the house.

Inside the house, Rose opened the carrier and let the tiny kitten out. She immediately began exploring, poking her nose into everything she came across. Alec set up the litter box in the bathroom while Rose put out food and water in the kitchen. Ginger sniffed at the food first, and finding it acceptable began to crunch loudly on the kibble. Rose left the kitten to her food in favor of taking up residence on the sofa. She was queueing up Six Feet Under on the television when Alec emerged from the bathroom.

"I'm surprised you like this show so much," he commented after the opening death sequence. "It's rather morbid, to be honest."

"Yeah, but it's really well written. They make some important points about death and grieving. Besides, it's a reminder that death is all around us. It's an everyday thing. So it's important to make the most of the time you have, because you never know when it may be cut short," she explained to him. "I learned that the hard way, taking people I loved for granted. After John, I'll never do that again."

"Well, I certainly don't take you for granted. I'm grateful for every single moment we have together," he told her, resting his open palm against her cheek. Ginger came out of the kitchen then and hopped up on the sofa. She kneaded at the fabric of their trousers with her paws before finally curling up, half on Rose's lap, half on Alec's. She began purring almost immediately.

"Listen to the engine on this one. Purring like a motorboat," Rose commented.

"I'd like to make you purr," Alec said with a roguish grin.

Rose rolled her eyes good naturedly at him. "Leave it to you to turn something innocent into an innuendo. I used to have a friend like that named Jack."

"Surprisingly, I only find myself making sexual jokes around you," he teased. "So what happened to this friend of yours?"

"Don't know. We lost touch a long time ago," she said, pulling her fingers through Ginger's fur.

"Were you and him ever together?" Alec asked.

"No. Not for lack of trying on his part, though. I only ever had eyes for...John," she replied. She'd just barely stopped herself from saying 'the Doctor'.

"He was a very lucky man," Alec said softly.

"Considering how he died, I wouldn't say he was that lucky," Rose retorted.

"That's not what I meant," Alec replied.

"I know what you meant," she answered. They lapsed into silence, the only sounds the television and Ginger purring. When the episode had finished, Rose picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Gently, she shifted the kitten from her lap onto the sofa and got up.

"You coming to bed?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this all day," he said, following her out of the living room. In the bedroom, they stripped out of their clothes before tumbling naked onto the sheets, where they made love until they were both sweaty and breathless.

"Are you going to spend all day staring out the window?" Rose asked, not unkindly. It was Saturday, and Daisy Hardy was currently en route to Broadchurch. Alec had been acting like a Nervous Nellie all morning.

"No, sorry," he said, dropping the curtains back into place. "I'm just anxious. She texted me when she left, she should be here by now."

"They probably got stuck in traffic," Rose offered.

"Yeah, maybe," he sighed. "Don't suppose you'd mind putting on the kettle?"

"Not at all," Rose said, retreating to the kitchen. She pulled the kettle off the stove and filled it from the tap before placing it back on the burner to boil. Standing at the kitchen counter, she tapped her fingers against the granite as she waited patiently for the water to heat up. When the kettle whistled, she plucked it off of the stove, pouring the hot water into two waiting mugs. She fixed both of their tea just as they liked it before returning to the living room. Alec was sitting on the sofa playing with Ginger, dangling a feathered toy just out of her reach.

"It's not nice to tease her, you know," Rose said, taking a seat beside him on the sofa.

"Oh, she loves it," he insisted, accepting the steaming mug of tea.

"You tell me how much she loves it when she decides to sit on your face and smother you in your sleep," Rose replied.

"You're just jealous that she likes me better," he quipped.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that must be it."

The doorbell rang, effectively interrupting their good natured argument. "That'll be Daisy," Alec said, getting up to answer the door. He returned a moment later, a young blonde girl in tow. "Daisy, Rose. Rose, Daisy."

"Hello," Rose said amiably.

"Um, yeah, hi," the teenager responded, fiddling with the ends of her hair. She looked very uncomfortable.

"Well go on, have a seat. We've redone the living room since the last time you were here," Alec said, gesturing to the sofa and wingback chairs. Daisy picked the chair farthest from the sofa and sat down. Alec resumed his seat on the sofa next to Rose.

"So how is school?" Alec asked pleasantly to break the ice.

"School's fine. I got an A on my Shakespeare paper," Daisy replied.

"That's my brilliant girl," he said with a proud smile.

"So are you two like...going to get married?" the teenager asked suddenly.

The question caught both Rose and Alec off guard. They exchanged an uneasy look with each other before looking back at Daisy.

"We've only been dating a few months, sweetheart. Too soon to talk about marriage. But we are pretty serious about each other," Alec replied carefully.

"What about the baby?" she demanded. "Is it yours?"

Rose and Alec exchanged another uneasy look. This time, Rose took the lead. "No. I was engaged before, but he died. The baby is his, not your father's."

An incredulous look spread across the young girl's face. "You're dating a woman who's pregnant with another guy's baby?"

"Apparently I am. Is that a problem?" Alec asked, raising his eyebrows.

"What about mum?" she pressed.

Alec sighed heavily and scrubbed at his face. "Daisy, your mother and I are divorced, and it's going to stay that way. She made her choices, I made mine, and we've both moved on."

"Maybe you have, but she hasn't!"

"And that's your mother's business. It has nothing to do with me," he said curtly.

Daisy got up and began pacing the room. "So you're just going to throw our family away for some rich bitch floozy?"

"Daisy!" Alec reprimanded. "Apologize to Rose right this instant!"

"Oh, yeah dad. I know all about this Rose of yours. The Vitex heiress? The one who didn't exist before 2010? Yeah, I've read up on you. There are no records of you even existing before five years ago. What are you, a secret agent?" the teenaged girl shrieked.

Rose tried to retain her composure. She almost had to chuckle about the secret agent bit-if only Daisy knew how close that was to the truth. She knew the girl probably wasn't actually angry with her, but more upset with the situation. Her hopes of her family reuniting had been dashed, and Rose was sensitive to this. "It's rather complicated, Daisy. And to be honest, I don't feel comfortable discussing it, not when I haven't talked about it yet with your father."

"Oh great," Daisy retorted. "So you're dating a pregnant woman that you know nothing about. Cheers, dad, that's brilliant."

"Young lady, I've had just about enough of your attitude. I am your father and you will respect me!" Alec shouted, finally losing his cool.

Daisy stared back at him defiantly before turning on her heel and running out of the living room. The front door slammed, and Alec's shoulders slumped.

"Well, that went just swimmingly," he said, frustrated. "Rose, I am so, so sorry."

"It's alright, honestly. I'm not taking it personally. Go on after her, make sure she's okay," Rose coaxed. Alec rose from the sofa and went to go after his daughter. When the door shut, Rose settled back against the sofa with a sigh. Great. So that was two members of Alec's family she'd met, and they both seemed to hate her. Not that Tessa really counted, but still. Ginger hopped on the sofa and curled up next to Rose. Absent mindedly, she began to pet the cat.

"You don't hate me, do you Ginger?" she said softly.

A few minutes later, Alec returned, alone. "Listen, I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but I'm going to drive Daisy home. She's really upset, and she doesn't want to stay here right now," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Maybe that's for the best. You go on, and have a safe drive. Ginger and I will be waiting when you get back," Rose said.

"Right," Alec replied, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "I'll be back in a few hours." He took his keys from the hook by the door and disappeared back outside. A few moments later, she heard his car start and drive away.

Sighing, she unfolded herself from the sofa and went to the bedroom to have a kip.

Later that night, they were sitting in bed together. It was an early evening for them, given the stress of the day. After Alec had returned from driving Daisy home, they'd had a joyless and mostly silent dinner. Studiously, they avoided the topic of Alec's daughter. They'd watched some telly before finally retiring to the bedroom.

"You know you never did tell me why there's no records of you before 2010," Alec said. "Granted, I never did ask you outright."

Rose sighed, and set the book she was reading down on the nightstand. She'd known this conversation was coming, and she'd been dreading it all day. "You wouldn't believe me even if I did tell you. You'll think I'm mental."

"Try me," he replied, taking her hand in his.

"You really want to know?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"That's why I'm asking," he said, stroking his thumb along the inside of her wrist.

Rose's breath puffed out of her lungs. "There's no record of me before 2010 because I didn't exist here. I'm from another world, a parallel world, in a different universe."

"You're from another universe?" he said slowly.

"I told you it was mental," she replied, fidgeting.

"Okay…," he said, drawing the word out. "You're from another universe. So how did you get here?"

"Remember the Cybermen?" she asked.

"Kind of hard to forget," he replied.

"Well, if you remember the Cybermen, you remember when they just up and vanished from this world. They mapped themselves onto my universe and travelled through the Void, the space between dimensions, to get there. But they weren't the only aliens that came through the Void. There was another race, these evil, genocidal creatures called the Daleks. There was a war between them and the Cybermen. Me and this man, we tried to stop them by opening the breach between worlds. The Daleks and the Cybermen were soaked in Void stuff, so when we opened the breach, they all got sucked in. And I almost did too, but Pete, my step-dad, caught me before I could fall into the Void. We used this teleport thing to get back to his universe, just before the breach closed. When it did, it sealed off the walls between universes, and I got stuck here. My mum, too, actually. She had a doppelganger as well. Pete's first wife. She was Cyberised. And my mate, Mickey? He wasn't Cyberised, he's in the other universe. So is my friend Jack."

Several emotions flitted across Alec's face. He looked like he was at war with himself over her admission. They sat in silence for several minutes before Rose finally spoke again.

"Alec, please say something," she pleaded.

"Okay, you were right. That does sound mental," he said, shaking his head.

"Do you believe it though?" she pressed.

"Do you need me to believe it? You obviously do."

She sighed. "I shouldn't have told you."

"They say that truth is stranger than fiction. I don't believe you could have made that story up if you tried. Still...it's all a bit hard to believe. It's a lot to take in," he said.

"I know," she replied, her shoulders slumping. "I would've told you sooner, but I didn't figure you'd believe me."

"I have no reason to think you'd lie to me," he said.

"Well, while we're on the topic, there's something else. I didn't really used to be a secretary. I worked as a field agent for a secret government organisation called Torchwood. They deal specifically with extraterrestrial threats. My step-dad, Pete, is the Director," she said, toying with the ends of her hair.

"So you really were a secret agent?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Pretty much, yeah," she replied. "Are you mad I didn't tell you sooner?"

"No. But I have to ask-is there anything else you haven't been telling me?"

Rose bit her lip. How to even begin to answer that question. It was one thing to tell Alec that she'd come from a parallel universe. It was another thing entirely to explain to him that the man she had loved was really a nine hundred year old time travelling alien with two hearts, and that John was a genetic half-human clone grown from his severed hand, who occasionally talked like Donna Noble. Somehow, she doubted the phrase 'instantaneous biological Metacrisis' was in his vernacular.

"No, there's nothing else," she replied softly.

Satisfied, Alec turned out the light and gathered her into his arms.


	15. Chapter 15

Rose and Alec did end up going to London for her birthday at the end of April. They were paying Tom Miller £20 to take care of Ginger while they were gone. It was only going to be for three days and four nights, because that was all the time Alec was able to take off of work. Charlotte had sent Rose off on her last day of work before the mini-holiday with some cocoa butter lotion for her stretch marks and her blessing to have a nice time with her family.

Alec pulled up to the gates of the Tyler mansion. "This is it," he said, looking at her as he leaned out the window to press the buzzer. A moment later the gates parted, admitting them entry. Alec drove up the driveway and parked right in front of the house, behind Pete's car. He came around and opened Rose's door before going back to the boot to grab their luggage.

"Just to warn you, my little brother is probably going to think you're John. He hasn't quite grasped the concept of death, yet," Rose cautioned.

"And what about your step-dad? Is he going to come after me with a laser gun or something?" Alec asked as they walked up to the door.

"Why on Earth would he do that? Laser gun?" she said with bemusement as she rang the doorbell.

"Well, I don't know. You said he was the head of a secret government organisation," Alec grumbled.

"You won't have to worry about Pete, he's very chill. And you've already won my mum over, for the most part," Rose replied.

At that moment, Pete answered the door. "Rose! And you must be Alec. Please, come in," he said, swinging the door wide open. They stepped into the foyer and Pete shut the door behind them. "Jacks and Tony are in the kitchen. We just ordered pizza. Hope pepperoni is okay."

"Oh yeah, that'll be fine," Alec said, leaving their bags by the doorway. Rose and him followed Pete through the mansion into the kitchen.

"Johnny!" cried the ginger-haired little boy, flinging himself upon Alec. To his credit, Alec let Tony embrace him.

"No, sweetheart," Rose said, kneeling on the floor so she was at Tony's level. "This isn't John. This is Alec, he just looks like John. John isn't coming back."

"Are you sure you're not Johnny?" Tony asked, peering up at him suspiciously.

"Pretty sure, yeah," Alec said lightly.

Not entirely convinced, Tony returned to the table to eat his pizza. Jackie came over, and gave Rose an appraising look.

"You're looking well," she said, nodding at Rose's bulging stomach.

"Just over 28 weeks now. I've got over two more months to go, and I already look like I swallowed a planet," Rose said, rubbing her belly.

"I think you look beautiful," Alec said, gazing at her fondly.

"I couldn't agree more. Motherhood suits you," Pete said. "Anyway, why don't you two have a seat at the table? You must be tired after all that driving."

"A little bit," Alec replied, pulling Rose's chair out for her before taking his own seat. He slid a manilla envelope across the table to Jackie. "Oh, and we brought you this. Copy of the 26th week sonogram."

"Oh, isn't that precious," Jackie cooed, taking the sonogram out of the envelope. "My first grandbaby. I'm going to put this right on the fridge."

Alec and Rose both accepted a paper plate and a slice of pizza each from Pete. They chatted amiably as they ate, asking Tony about school, if Pete and Jackie had seen any good films lately, how the weather had been in London. It was all relatively low key. When they had finished, Pete invited Alec to his study and Jackie whisked Rose upstairs, wanting to show her the bedroom they had redone.

Pete waited until Alec was sitting in the study to close the door. "Scotch?" he offered, holding up a crystal decanter of golden liquid.

"Yeah, sure. Thank you," Alec said, accepting the drink. He wondered if he was going to need it.

"So, you and Rose," Pete said, taking the seat across from Alec. "I hear you two are living together now. How's that going?"

"Well, it's going well. We're converting my study into a nursery. Painted it blue and everything. And we adopted a cat, Ginger. Things are good," Alec replied, sipping his scotch.

"Alec, I'm going to be blunt with you. How much has Rose told you about her past?" Pete asked, leaning forward.

"She told me about the parallel universe, how she and Jackie are from there. She told me about John, how we could be twins. She told me that you're her dead father's doppelganger, and that you were married to another Jackie Tyler, who was Cyberised. She told me about Torchwood, not much, just that you deal with aliens. Aside from the normal stuff, that's about it," Alec answered.

"Nothing else?" Pete asked.

"Not that I know of. Why?" Alec responded.

"I was just wondering if I was going to have to retcon you or not," Pete replied.

Alec shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't tell if the man was joking or serious. Pete saw the expression on his face and took the opportunity to relieve Alec's suffering. "Relax. I was kidding," he said, smiling with a glint in his eye.

"Well that's good," Alec replied, finishing off the rest of his scotch. Pete offered him another and he declined. He figured he'd need to be in control of his faculties for the rest of the conversation.

"So...what are you hoping to get out of this relationship with Rose?" Pete asked.

"Well, I love her. For right now, we're just a couple living together. I don't really have any expectations. We're just taking it a day at a time. I know it's weird and all, with me looking like John," Alec answered.

"And it's your intention to help Rose raise this baby?"

"As if it were my own son," Alec answered truthfully.

"Do you think you two will get married?" Pete questioned.

Alec pulled on his collar. Was it getting hotter in here, or was that just the scotch? "I suppose that's the eventual goal of most long-term relationships. I'm divorced, though. I wouldn't just dive back into marriage willy nilly. And anyway, it's only been four months. A bit soon to be thinking about marriage."

Pete chuckled. "A month after coming to this world, Jacks got pregnant with Tony. We were still figuring each other out when it happened. I'm not exactly like her original Pete, and she's not exactly like my original Jackie-which is a good thing, probably. My Jackie was always so severe. Anyway, we got married after we'd known each other for only three months, and I've never looked back. And now we have a beautiful little boy."

"Is there a point to this Pete? Not to be rude," Alec said.

"My point is, when something fits, you just know it. The rest of the world has its ideas and expectations about how long it should take people to fall in love, how soon people should date after their spouse dies. All I'm saying is that the rest of the world is wrong. There is no set timeline on love. And if two people love each other, they should be together," Pete said earnestly.

"Are you trying to tell me I should propose to Rose?" Alec asked, still not quite sure what Pete was getting at.

"No, not at all. That's between you two. I just want you to know, I support your relationship. I think you've been good for Rose. And if the time ever comes, I wouldn't be disappointed to have you as a son-in-law."

"You barely know me," Alec said, shifting uncomfortably under Pete's steady gaze.

"Yeah, but I know that Rose loves you, and that's good enough for me," Pete said kindly.

"Well I appreciate that, sir," Alec replied. Pete really wasn't so bad after all.

Alec emerged out of the ridiculously large en suite off their guest room to see Rose sitting in bed, a grimace on her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked getting into the bed, a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just having Braxton Hicks contractions. I'm a little uncomfortable, that's all," she said.

"Do you want me to rub your back?" he offered.

"I never turn down an offer of a back rub," she said, scooting forward so he could sit behind her. He began massaging her shoulders and she moaned with pleasure. He kneaded the knots in her muscles until they finally relaxed. Several minutes later, she melted bonelessly into the bed and gave a contented sigh.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," she replied. "Thank you."

Alec looked over at the bedside clock. "It's midnight. Happy birthday," he said, leaning over to press his lips against hers.

She sighed. "29. God, I'm getting old."

He raised his eyebrows at her comment. "If that makes you old, I don't want to know what that makes me."

Rose blew a raspberry at him and flapped her hand dismissively. "You're still pretty young."

He smiled back at her. "I'm really not, you know."

"You're more than 20 years younger than Pete," Rose offered.

"Really? Wow, he looks good for a man his age," Alec remarked.

"He moisturizes. And works out three days a week," Rose replied.

"Speaking of working out, I need to get back to running, now that it's spring. I used to do it every Sunday, run five miles. Haven't done much running since we started dating. I've been spending all my free time with you," Alec said, rubbing his chin.

"Well don't give up your hobbies on account of me. Besides, we live together. You can see me whenever you want," she said.

"Yeah, but there still aren't enough hours in the day to spend with you," he said with a smile.

"You soppy git," she laughed.

"Oi! I resemble that remark!"

Their time in London flew by quickly. Monday, they celebrated Rose's birthday by going out for fish and chips at her favorite chippy. Jake Simmonds joined them for the festivities. Back at the Tyler home, they had chocolate cake and ice cream and sang her 'Happy Birthday' and unwrapped presents. Rose's parents had bought her a car seat for the baby, Tony had drawn her a picture, Jake had brought her a pair of aromatherapy slippers, and Alec had given her a strand of gorgeous black pearls. After doing presents, they all retired together to the cavernous living room to watch a movie. That night, Rose and Alec put Tony to bed. Alec read him iGoodnight Moon/i, which was Tony's favorite. It warmed Rose's heart to see her boyfriend interacting with her little brother. It was a little taste of what he would be like as a father to her son.

Tuesday, Rose's mum took her shopping in downtown London. They returned to the Tyler mansion laden with clothes and toys and gifts for the baby. Alec wasn't honestly sure they would be able to fit everything in the boot of his car.

Wednesday, Jackie let Tony skip school so that Rose and Alec could take him to the Horniman Museum. The little boy was delighted at being allowed to touch many of the objects out on display. He'd also seemed to accept Alec as his own person, and had adopted a rather playful demeanor with him. Rose could hardly believe it when Thursday rolled around and it was time for them to go back to Broadchurch. Her family drove her spare at times, but she really had missed them and being home reminded her of that fact.

"Alec?" she said hesitantly as they drove away from her parents' house.

"Yeah?" he said, turning to her.

"Before we leave London...would it be alright with you if we stopped by the cemetery? It's just, I haven't been since John died and I don't know when I'll be back again. I just feel like I should go, y'know?" she said, fidgeting nervously.

"Yeah, of course we can," he said gently.

Rose gave him directions to the cemetery, which was right on the outskirts of London, about a twenty minute drive from the Tyler mansion. John was buried near the center of the cemetery, and though Rose had only been there on the day they had buried him, she knew exactly where to find him. Alec pulled the car to the side of the small road that wound through the cemetery.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked when he'd put the car in park.

"No, I think I'll go alone, actually," she said, steeling herself for what was coming next.

"Alright," he replied. "I'll be right here if you need me." He gave her hand a squeeze. She bit her lip, and got out of the car.

She threaded her way through the graves, coming to a stop underneath a giant yew tree. John's grave was within the shadow of the tree, but not quite under it. She kneeled in front of the stone and ran her fingers over the inscription.

iJonathan Noble Smith

b. 23 November 1979

d. 31 October 2014

"Before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I."/i

Big fat tears rolled their way down her cheeks. "I miss you so much, you stupid git. I was supposed to die first, not you. I wish you could be here to see our baby. It's a boy. I'm going to name him after you. John Alexander Tyler. Thing is...I met a man. A wonderful man. He looks just like you, but he's a completely different person. And I love him. God, I love him so much, and after you I didn't even think that would be possible ever again. I'd like to think you'd be happy for me. Because I'm happy. I'm happy with my life, and my man, and my home, and my baby. I'm trying to have a fantastic life, cause I know that's what you would want. And I love you, John. I always will. Forever."

She heaved herself off of the grass and brushed the dirt from her knees. She placed her hand on top of the tombstone. "Goodbye, John."

She turned from the grave and wound her way back to the car. When she got back in, she was still crying. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hands.

"Are you alright?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go on, let's get out of here. Enough melancholy for today," she sniffled.

She was relieved when they got back to their own house a few hours later. Ginger greeted them at the door, meowing insistently as if to say, "Just where the hell have you two been?".

Alec rifled through the mail that had accumulated in their absence. "There's a card here for you. No return address," he said, handing Rose the envelope.

Rose tore the envelope open and took out the card. She read over it, and her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. "It's from Daisy. She send me a note to apologize for what happened when she came to visit last month."

"I knew she'd come around eventually," Alec said, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder so he could read the card. "She really is a good kid at heart."

"We'll have to have her come visit again before the baby is born," Rose replied, rubbing absently at her stomach.

Alec was still wide awake and staring at the ceiling that night long after Rose had dropped off to sleep. He was mulling over his conversation with Pete Tyler, replaying it in his head, dissecting it the same way he'd dissect evidence for a case. Did he want to marry Rose? He dug deep, and all he could find was the overwhelming love he had for her and her unborn child. Certainly, he couldn't imagine being without her, not at this stage of the game. He really, really did love her, though, and wasn't that a good enough reason to ask someone to marry you?

He finally drifted off to sleep maybe an hour later, resolved to the idea that he wanted to make Rose Tyler into an honest woman.


	16. Chapter 16

The next Thursday, after dinner, Alec cornered Ellie in the kitchen while Rose was in the living room, playing with Fred. They stood at the sink together, Ellie washing the dishes and Alec drying.

"Miller, I'd like your opinion on something. How soon is too soon to ask someone to marry you?" he asked.

Ellie's eyebrows shot up to her forehead. "You weren't thinking about proposing to Rose, were you?"

"Thinking about it, yeah. I mean, I know it seems soon. We've only been together for four months, but they've honestly been the best four months of my life, aside from when my daughter was born. I talked to Rose's step-dad, and he was actually the one who brought up marriage. He said when something fits, you just know it, and he said there's no timeline on love. At first I thought it was daft, but then I thought about it some more and I realised he was right. I love Rose, am in love with her. I can't see myself being with anyone else but her, I don't want to be. I want to take care of her and the baby. It almost feels pointless to wait, when things are already pretty serious between us," Alec replied.

"You've changed so much since meeting her, you know. For the better, honestly. You're not so rough around the edges anymore. I think, so long as you and Rose are both on the same page, there's no reason why you shouldn't get engaged, if you're both ready. Obviously, you are, but are you sure she is?" Ellie pressed.

Alec sighed. "I think so, but I honestly don't know. I mean, she was engaged to John not too long ago. I don't want to scare her off by making things too serious too soon, but Ellie, it just feels right. It's like I was missing a piece of myself, and now I've found it."

"I don't know what Rose has done to you, but you've turned into quite the romantic," Ellie teased.

"Rose has been good for me. And you're right, I have changed. I'm not always stressed and angry and tired anymore. Honestly, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be happy. I never imagined after Tess and I split up that there would be anyone else. Hell, I thought I was going to die last year. I've wasted enough of my life being a grumpy bastard. I don't want to do it like that anymore," he confessed.

"So do it then. Ask her. The worst thing that could happen is she says she's not ready. She's over the moon for you, though," Ellie pointed out.

"No, the worst thing that could happen is she says no, and then breaks up with me," Alec said, his breath puffing out of his lungs.

"I honestly doubt she'd break up with you. You're not always around to hear the way she talks about you, but she's just as crazy about you as you are about her. I couldn't picture her leaving you, not because she thought you'd proposed too early. You'll never know if you don't ask, though," Ellie replied.

"Suppose you're right. God, I'm going to have to buy a ring. Luckily, I've got money in savings. And then, I'll have to figure out how I actually want to do it. Propose to her, I mean. I want it to be special," Alec said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Ellie said encouragingly.

"So what are you two discussing so intently?" Rose said, making a sudden appearance in the kitchen doorway with Fred balanced on her hip.

"Nothing," Alec and Ellie both answered guiltily in unison.

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Alright then."

"It's getting late. Were you ready to head home?" Alec asked, eager to change the subject.

"Suppose so," Rose replied, handing the toddler off to Ellie.

"Alright, we'll see you for dinner next week and I'll see you at work tomorrow," Alec said, hustling Rose out of the house and out to the car.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as they got in the car.

"Everything's fine," he answered cheerfully. Already, he was beginning to formulate a plan.

Alec ended up driving to a small town an hour away to purchase the engagement ring a week after his conversation in the kitchen with Ellie. He told Rose that he had a conference to attend for work and got Ellie to cover for him so she wouldn't be suspicious. He didn't want to go jewelry shopping in Broadchurch, lest Olly or some other nosy reporter saw him and ruined the surprise before he had a chance to pop the question to Rose. He visited several jewelry shops, looking for the perfect ring. He didn't have the money to buy anything as extravagant as the honking sapphire surrounded by diamonds that she'd gotten from John, but he was still determined to find something that was as beautiful as she was. Though diamonds were her birthstone, she had mentioned once that she preferred more colorful jewelry, which made his decision slightly easier. The ring he finally ended up buying had a delicate filigree band, a cushion cut sapphire in the center, and two little diamond chips on either side. He stashed the box containing the ring in the inner pocket of his suit jacket, and drove back to Broadchurch, his mission complete. Now all that was left to do was actually ask Rose the question and see what she said.

"Are you alright? You seem anxious," Rose said as they were getting dressed in the bedroom. It was June 1st, their five month anniversary, and they were getting ready to go out to dinner at Caprese's.

"Oh, I'm fine," he lied. "Just got work on my mind, that's all." Of course he was anxious. Tonight was the night he was planning to ask Rose Tyler to marry him, and he wanted everything to go off without a hitch. He'd called ahead to the restaurant over a week ago to see if they would help him with his proposal, and they had been delighted at the prospect of taking part in such an important event. Rose and Alec were regulars at the cafe, and mostly everyone who worked there knew them, including the kitchen staff. The manager and Alec had discussed the plan, and Alec felt pretty good about it. Still, he was nervous because he had no idea what Rose's reaction would be. There was still a chance, however slim, that his public proposal might backfire spectacularly in his face.

Despite the warm weather, Alec was wearing one of his trademark suits in a dark charcoal grey with a solid deep blue tie and a light blue button down shirt. Rose was wearing a black lace babydoll maternity dress with a pair of ballet flats. The garment clung tightly to her body, accentuating her natural curves and the swell of her pregnant belly. Despite still having a few weeks to go until her due date, she looked ready to pop. Alec thought she looked gorgeous.

"We're going to be late for our reservation if we don't leave now," Rose warned, breaking Alec out of his nervous reverie.

"Well then. Shall we be going?" he said, offering her his arm.

"Indeed we shall," she said with a smile, letting him lead her out of the house and to the car. As always, he opened her door first before going back around to the driver's side and getting in. They made pleasant chatter on the way to the restaurant. Rose was cataloging all the things they still needed to get for the baby's room-a crib, a changing table, a diaper pail, a rocking chair. They had plenty of clothes and toys and other supplies for the baby, thanks to the shopping spree Jackie had taken her on for her birthday back in April. Rose was just nesting, which was normal at this stage in the game.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked him again as they took their seats in the restaurant. "You've got this far off look on your face like you're a million miles away."

"Absolutely peachy," he replied, plastering a grin across his face. They accepted their menus from the server and set about deciding what to get for dinner. After a few minutes of careful deliberation, Alec ordered the lasagna, Rose the chicken saltimbocca. The server collected their menus and disappeared back into the kitchen to get their salads.

"Don't forget, we're doing dinner at Ellie's on Wednesday this week because lamaze class is on Thursday night," Rose reminded him.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Have it written down on the calendar," he replied.

"God, I'm just so over being pregnant. I'm ready to evict this baby already," Rose said with a sigh. "I know some women love being pregnant, but I'm just not one of them."

"He'll be here soon enough," Alec said in an attempt to placate her.

"I know. I just can't wait to hold him in my arms," Rose replied.

He smiled back at her. "Me too."

Their salads arrived, and they made small talk while they were eating. The restaurant was actually somewhat crowded for a Monday night-out of ten tables in the cafe, seven of them were occupied with couples or families with their children. Their entrees came out about fifteen minutes after they'd finished their salads, and they tucked into the food with reckless abandon. Round about when the server collected the dishes from their dinner was when Alec's palms began to sweat in nervous anticipation. They ordered dessert-Italian cheesecake for Rose, cannoli for Alec, and sat back to wait.

The server reappeared a few minutes later, carrying two plates He set down Alec's dessert first before placing Rose's plate in front of her. She had just picked up her fork and was about to eat when she noticed that the chocolate sauce drizzled over the plate wasn't just in a random pattern, but in a series of words that spelled out 'will you marry me?'.

"Oh my God," she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as Alec got to his knee beside her chair. He took her hand in his, and smiled at her tenderly.

"Rose Marion Tyler, I know we haven't been together long, but these past five months with you have been the best of my life. I am so completely in love with you, and can't and don't want to imagine my life without you in it. You're smart, kind, generous, brave, funny and patient. You accept me, even with all my faults, and you still love me for them. Even better than that, when I'm around you, I want to be a better man. Each and every day with you is a gift, and every time I wake up next to you, I'm reminded that I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I feel like you are the missing piece I've been searching for all of my life, and I am so glad that we found each other. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, producing the ring from his pocket. The restaurant had gone silent, the other patrons watching what was unfolding, their meals temporarily forgotten.

"Yes. Of course I'll marry you," Rose replied, tears in her eyes. Alec slid the ring onto her finger, and the restaurant burst into raucous cheers and applause. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers in a not entirely chaste kiss, hardly even caring that everyone was watching them.

"Your engagement was the front page of the Broadchurch Echo this morning," Ellie said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. They had ordered out curry, and the table was littered with takeaway containers. Fred, who was still too young to appreciate a good curry, was eating chicken nuggets and chips.

"Small town, slow news day," Alec replied, taking a bite of his chicken tikka masala.

"I don't suppose you've given any thought to a date yet?" Ellie asked.

"Not yet, not really. Obviously, sometime after the baby is born. We're already living together, there's no need to rush the wedding," Rose replied.

"Well I have to say, I couldn't be more pleased for you two. You make a lovely couple," Ellie said with a smile.

"I know it might be a little early to ask, but would you be my Matron of Honor?" Rose asked, chasing her food around her plate. "After all, if it weren't for you, Alec and I might not have met."

"Oh my goodness, of course I'll be your Matron of Honor! I'd be delighted. And anyway, it's a small town. You and Alec were bound to meet eventually," Ellie answered. "And what about you, Alec? Have you picked a Best Man yet?"

"I was going to ask my sister, actually. She can be the Best Woman. Well, the best woman besides Rose," he replied.

"Oh, you," Rose said, smiling at him fondly.

"Will it be a big wedding, do you think?" Ellie asked conversationally.

"Probably not. I don't think either one of us wants some big, overdone, fancy affair. Just invite close friends and family, do something small, intimate, and low key," Alec answered.

"Yeah, I was never a fan of huge weddings. Don't much care for crowds, especially when half the time you only know a fraction of the people there," Ellie said. "Do you think you'll have it in a church?"

"Well, neither one of us is particularly religious, so I doubt it," Rose replied. "My parents volunteered to have it in the back garden of their mansion, which might be nice."

"That reminds me," Alec said, scrubbing at his face. "I still haven't even introduced you to my parents. We'll have to take a trip up to Glasgow soon. After the baby is born, of course. I know how uncomfortable long car rides are for you right now."

"Do your parents even know about us yet?" Rose asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, they watch the news and stuff, and our relationship has been splashed all over the papers. I haven't told them that we're engaged yet, though," he replied.

"You really should do that," Rose chided lightly.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just honestly not that close with my parents, not like you are. Never have been, really," he said. "I was always closer to my sisters."

"I haven't met your sister yet, either," Rose pointed out.

"That's because she's doing charity work in Africa right now. She's supposed to come home for three months this summer, you can meet her then," he countered.

"I can't wait," Rose said with a smile, which Alec returned.

After dinner they departed so Ellie could give Fred a bath and put him to bed. They walked out to the car together, hand in hand. Both of them were still riding the giddy high from their engagement. On the drive back to the house, they laughed and chatted animatedly with each other. It was rare anymore that they lapsed into an awkward silence. When they pulled up to the house, Alec came around and opened Rose's door and helped her out of the car, catching her when she stumbled over her swollen feet.

In the bedroom, they both got undressed and put on their pyjamas before climbing into bed to read. This had become their nightly routine for almost as long as they'd been together, and they both cherished these quiet moments between the two of them, knowing that once the baby was born those quiet moments would likely be few and far in between. After an hour or so of reading, they turned off the lights and snuggled up to each other, Rose's back to Alec's front and both of their hands resting over her stomach.

"I love you," Alec whispered into her ear, his breath warm on the back of her neck.

"I love you, too," she replied sleepily.

That night, she dreamt of a baby boy with big brown eyes and tousled brown hair, a miniature version of the man in whose arms he was resting in. And in that dream, the man holding her baby was Alec Hardy.


	17. Chapter 17

Rose was at her final prenatal appointment before her due date on the 7th of July. As far as she was concerned, the time couldn't pass quickly enough. The summer heat had made being pregnant just that much more uncomfortable. Alec stood stalwart beside her at the exam table as they both gazed at the ultrasound screen, watching baby John kick and thrash his limbs about enthusiastically. It was hard to believe that after all the months of morning sickness, swollen feet and ankles, and Braxton Hicks contractions that the day was finally almost upon them. At the start of her appointment, they had weighed Rose, taken her blood pressure and vital signs, and made her submit to a urine sample for standard testing purposes. Doctor Morris had asked her a dozen different questions, about how she was feeling, the symptoms she was experiencing, the baby's movement, her plans for delivery, etc… Frankly, Rose was knackered and couldn't wait to get back to the house. Being hugely pregnant was completely exhausting. She hadn't been this thoroughly tired since her first trimester.

"Well, everything looks good to me. The baby has moved into position, he's clear of the umbilical cord and he's not breach, so you should have a fairly easy birth in that respect. I don't see any reason why you won't be able to deliver vaginally, if you want to," said Doctor Morris.

"Well, that's good," Rose replied, relieved to hear the news. She really didn't want to have to go through the unnecessary pain and recovery of a C-section. It had been her plan all along to give birth the natural way. Well, natural except for pain killers. And oh, there iwould/i be pain killers. She wasn't a glutton for punishment, after all.

"Alright then, you guys are free to go. You have my cell phone number. Call me of course, if you have any questions, anything seems amiss, or the baby stops moving," the doctor said. "Otherwise, I'll see you at the hospital when the time comes."

Alec helped Rose to climb down from the exam table. She rearranged her clothes slowly and methodically, sitting down at one point so he could help her into her shoes. She hadn't seen her feet in over three months and felt like a beached whale, though Alec offered her constant reassurance that she looked beautiful. They drove back to the house in relative quiet.

"Are you alright?" Alec finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Aside from feeling like I swallowed a planet? Fine. I'm just anxious, that's all. From what I've been told, labor really, really hurts and I'm not looking forward to it," she answered, worrying her thumbnail.

"Yeah, but at least you get a baby out of it in the end," Alec offered in reply.

"That's easy for you to say, you don't have to do any of the work! Well, aside from putting up with my miserable, pregnant arse."

"I rather think your arse is quite fantastic, not miserable," he said with a cheeky grin. "Pregnant or not."

She rolled her eyes at him good naturedly. "Yeah well, you would say that."

"It's true, though," he replied.

"I'm still not having sex with you. I can barely move right now," she said.

"I wasn't expecting you to," he protested. "Though I wouldn't say no, if you wanted to give it a go for the sake of science…"

"Science. Right," Rose replied, biting her tongue. That definitely sounded like the sort of excuse John would use to get inside her knickers.

"So mum, what do you want for lunch? I'm cooking," he said when they got back to the house.

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup, please. And I'd like to eat it in bed, if you don't mind. My back is killing me," she said, already heading to the bedroom. Ginger was curled up sleeping at the end of the bed.

"Coming right up!" Alec said cheerfully. Twenty minutes later he came into the bedroom, carrying a tray laden with steaming food and tea. Rose gratefully accepted a bowl of soup and a sandwich from him and began eating.

"This grilled cheese is amazing. What'd you do to it?" she asked.

"The secret is mayonaise. Instead of buttering the outside of the bread, you use mayo. It gives it more flavor and a nice, crispy crust," he replied.

"Oh yeah? Where'd you learn to do that?' she questioned.

"Oh, I've always made them like that. Grilled cheese and tomato soup was Daisy's favorite when she was a child," he answered.

"You're a good dad. Little John will be lucky to have you as a father," she said earnestly.

Alec beamed back at her. "I'm glad you think so."

She finished her food and deposited the dishes back onto the tray. She sighed, and took a sip of her tea. "I just can't wait for this all to be over with. I want to hold my baby already."

"I know it feels like an eternity, but it's only another week or so and then he'll be in your arms," Alec said, carefully placing the tray on the floor next to the bed.

"Times like this, I wish I had a time machine," she said, though she knew perfectly well it didn't work that way from personal experience.

"If I could build you one, I would," Alec replied.

She laughed. If only he knew. One day, she would explain to him why his comment was so funny.

Surprisingly, Rose went into labor early in the morning on July 7th, Alec's birthday and her due date. She had woken up at 3:30 in the morning having strong contractions that radiated from her back through to her abdomen. After calling Doctor Morris, Alec herded her out to the car, her overnight bag slung over his shoulder. He opened the door and helped her into the car before tossing the bag into the boot and speeding off to the hospital, Rose clutching his left hand tightly the entire way.

They had been there for five hours already, and though she'd been given Demerol for the pain, she was still very uncomfortable and only dilated six centimeters. Several nurses had helped her walk down to one of the therapy rooms to sit in the Jacuzzi. It offered mild relief from the pain at first, but after twenty minutes or so of soaking, her contractions were becoming stronger, longer, and coming more quickly together. The nurses helped her out of the tub and back into her gown before bringing her back to her private room, where she was sick in the bathroom for a few minutes before finally climbing back into the bed.

"Do you want an epidural? It should help with the pain," asked a young male nurse, named Rory.

Rose gritted her teeth. "I'm about to push something the size of a watermelon out of my vagina. Of course I want a bloody epidural!"

Rory didn't seem bothered at all by her ire, being an old hand at dealing with angry, laboring mothers. He didn't bother to tell her that the epidural should wear off well before she actually gave birth. "I'll go and fetch the doctor," he said, disappearing from the room. He passed by Alec on his way out.

"I called your parents. They should hopefully be here within a few hours. Miller couldn't get a hold of the nanny, so she probably won't be by until later. How are you feeling?" Alec asked, taking a seat by the bed.

"I feel like a wet washcloth that somebody just keeps wringing out," Rose replied, her voice strained. She winced, as another contraction ripped through her body. She gripped Alec's hand tightly, to the point where it probably was painful for him. Wisely, he decided not to say anything about it. This wasn't his first rodeo, and he knew better than to complain about her hurting his hand while she was in the middle of what was a very intense and painful labor.

The anesthesiologist came and, after a brief assessment, decided to give her the epidural. It took several tries for him to actually place the epidural, but once he had, Rose started feeling some relief within half an hour. Alec encouraged her to rest up and save her strength for what was yet to come. After finally finding a comfortable position on the bed, she dropped off to sleep under his watchful eyes. The next time somebody came to check on her almost two hours later, she was fully dilated and feeling an intense need to push. They wheeled her down the hall to the delivery room. Her parents weren't there yet, but Alec never left her side, except to change into the spacesuit looking garments required for hygiene reasons.

"Alright folks, who's ready to have a baby?" Doctor Morris asked when she arrived at the delivery room.

"Good God, just please get this bloody thing out of me!" Rose shouted.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then," Doctor Morris said wryly. "Alright Rose, time to push!"

After an hour or so of crying, screaming, and pushing, Rose was exhausted and felt no closer to delivering then she had been before. She was still clutching Alec's hand in an iron vise grip. He stood faithfully beside her, never complaining, brushing the damp strands of hair out of her face and offering quiet words of encouragement.

"I can't do this," Rose cried weakly. "I feel like I'm being ripped apart!"

"Of course you can do this, sweetheart. You're doing beautifully. Women have been doing this for hundreds of thousands of years. Your body already knows what to do, just keep pushing, and don't forget to breathe," Alec said. Rose shot him a sour look before her face dissolved back into a mask of pain.

"Alright, the baby's crowning," the doctor declared. "You're almost there, Rose. Keep up the good work. Go ahead and give me another push."

"Oh my God, it hurts so bad!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Alright, the head is out. Now for the shoulders and the torso. This is the hardest part, but one more good push ought to do it," the doctor said encouragingly.

With a breathless cry, Rose expended the last of her strength and pushed as hard as she could. Moments later, Doctor Morris was holding up a squealing and red-faced infant. She allowed Alec to cut the umbilical cord before handing the baby off to a nurse to get cleaned up. She gave Rose an injection to help speed along the delivery of the placenta. A few minutes later, the placenta came, and as quickly as it had begun, it was over and Rose was holding a tiny swaddled bundle against her chest. They wheeled her back to her room and left her and Alec alone with the baby.

"He looks just like you," she said, pressing a gentle kiss to the infant's forehead.

"He looks just like his father, I'd imagine," Alec replied.

"iYou/i are the only father he will ever know. You don't have to love him, you chose to. That makes you his dad in the only way that matters," Rose said vehemently.

"Yeah. I suppose it does," Alec said with a grin.

Rose carefully handed him the swaddled infant. Alec cradled the baby in his arms and smiled down at him. "Why hello there, handsome."

Jackie and Pete picked that particular moment to make their appearance. They'd left Tony at home with Pete's sister, not wanting to overwhelm Rose and the new baby with too many visitors all at once. They left the doorway to come stand next to Rose's bed.

"Congratulations, sweetheart," Jackie said, accepting the cooing baby from Alec. "He's beautiful."

"Yeah, he is," Rose said with a weary smile. "Worth all the pain."

After two days in the hospital, Rose and baby John were finally allowed to come home. The infant sat in his car seat, gurgling and laughing all the way back to the house. Evidently, he enjoyed riding in the car. When they got to the house, Rose unbuckled him from the car seat and placed him gently against her shoulder, carefully supporting his head all the while. Alec unlocked the door and let them into the house. Ginger came up immediately to greet them, rubbing up against Rose's ankles and purring up a storm.

"This little miss needs to be fed, but then I'll join you in the bedroom," Alec said, making his way to the kitchen.

Rose went into the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. She gently laid John down next to her, right in the middle. A moment later, Alec reappeared to join her. The two of them laid facing each other, with John in between them. Rose rubbed the baby's belly soothingly, and he reached out, capturing her thumb in his tiny little fist.

"He's absolutely perfect," she whispered, totally enamoured by her newborn son. She brushed her hand through the already thick brown hair covering the baby's head. With his wide brown eyes and broad, guileless grin, he really did look just like his father.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Alec said with a smile. He leaned over and kissed the baby softly on his forehead.

Rose sighed contentedly. She had a home, her baby, and a brilliant, wonderful man who loved her unconditionally. She felt the happiest she'd been since John's death. Eventually, the three of them drifted peacefully off to sleep together, their little family complete.


	18. Chapter 18

iOne year later…/i

"Here we are then," the real estate agent said, unlocking the front door and pushing it open. "Nice big living room with a fireplace, an eat-in kitchen, and a dining room. There are three bedrooms upstairs, one master and two smaller ones. There's also three full bathrooms-one downstairs off the kitchen, one attached to the master bedroom, and one in the hall between the other two bedrooms. All of them have been updated within the last ten years."

"Is there a back garden?" Alec asked, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, yes. Plenty of room in the back, if you wanted to put in an inground pool or start a vegetable garden. And it's fenced in, so you'll have your privacy," the real estate agent replied.

"That'll be good for the kids," Rose remarked, taking stock of the newly remodeled kitchen. It was significantly larger than the one in Alec's house, and even had an island. There was no stove or refrigerator, of course, but neither one of them had expected there to be. Buying a home almost always required buying the large appliances, too. There was a dishwasher though, which was certainly a bonus. Alec opened the kitchen utility closet, seeing that it provided ample room for a washer and dryer, which was a necessity for anyone with young children.

They went upstairs and checked out the bedrooms. Rose was delighted to see that the master bath had both a shower and a Jacuzzi tub, as well as a double sink. The bedroom itself was painted a dark cerulean blue and had a small balcony, large windows, and a generously sized walk-in closet. The other two bedrooms were smaller, though not by much.

"Well Mrs. Hardy, what do you think?" Alec asked, wrapping his arms around Rose's waist and resting his hands over the swell of her stomach.

"I think it's perfect," she said, craning her neck so she could give him a kiss.

Alec smiled broadly at the real estate agent. "We'll take it."


End file.
